Stage set for Court Theatre’s return to city centre

Christchurch City Council will continue to work with the Court Theatre and the Crown on options for developing a home for the theatre company within the city’s Performing Arts Precinct.

“The Court Theatre has been based in Addington since the earthquakes but they are eager to return to the city centre and the Council is committed to helping make that happen,’’ says Christchurch City Council General Manager Citizens and Community Mary Richardson.

“We have agreed to prioritise the development of a home for the Court Theatre in the Performing Arts Precinct(external link).

“To that end we are setting up a Theatre Working Group to fast-track the identification of an appropriate and cost-effective option for providing a secure, long-term location for the Court Theatre within the Performing Arts Precinct.

“The Theatre Working Group will have until the end of March 2019 to present a viable business case and concept design to the Council for approval,’’ Ms Richardson says.

At the same time Council staff will work on identifying options for providing off-street parking to service the Performing Arts Precinct and the northern areas of the central city. They will also have until the end of March 2019 to put forward a recommended option.

“Today’s announcement sets a clear direction for the future development of the Performing Arts Precinct and is in line with the Memorandum of Understanding that the Council, the Crown and the Court Theatre signed in 2016,’’ Ms Richardson says.

“It was always envisaged the Court Theatre would be an anchor tenant in the Performing Arts Precinct but we have had to do a lot of background work and analysis in order to be able to move forward on this project with confidence.

“The Court Theatre’s performances attract about 150,000 people a year so having it located within the Performing Arts Precinct is really going to enliven the central city. We believe it will bring enormous benefits to the city centre,’’ Ms Richardson says.

“Parking is the other priority because with Tūranga opening soon and the Convention Centre under construction, parking in this part of the city centre is going to be increasingly in demand.’’

“We have not ruled out supporting the development of a black box/multi-purpose theatre facility further down the track. We want to create a vibrant central city that caters for a range of performing arts - both emerging and established - but we cannot do everything at once,’’ Ms Richardson says.

The Performing Arts Precinct is a joint Council and Crown project. The Council is developing the facilities – with its contribution capped at $30 million - and the Crown is providing the land.

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