With a number of the events – including 59 of the conferences – hosted by local and national organisations, Mr Steele said it was humbling to receive such strong support from New Zealand companies during the Centre’s inaugural year. “Our team has been so proud to support a number of businesses from around our region, and the country, over the past 12 months,” he said.

One of the first events was the Harcourts National Conference for 1000 delegates in mid-May 2022 – an event which also marked the return of the event to Christchurch for the first time in more than a decade.

Taking place just a few weeks after the Centre opened for business, Harcourts New Zealand Head of Events Jennie Harrison said creating an event of that scale and complexity had required a great deal of planning, especially as the events industry continued to navigate COVID restrictions and requirements.

Ms Harrison said overall, guests were impressed by the event, and the conference was judged a major success for the Harcourts events team.

“In terms of the actual conference itself, everybody was pleased with how well that went,” she said, “and everybody was really, really impressed by the building. One of the resounding comments from the Christchurch locals was how proud they were to have it back in Christchurch and to have it there. People who had come from Auckland to Christchurch were suitably surprised by the high quality of the facilities.”

With another 200-odd events expected through to the end of the year – including the Harcourts HX2023 national conference – Mr Steele said the Centre’s team was looking forward to another busy year ahead. He said while 11 of the conventions hosted in the past 12 months were international events, over the coming year that number jumped significantly, which would bring added benefits to the city, including business growth and opportunities for social connection.

Emma Walsh, Marketing and Brand Experience Manager at Oxford Group, which manages a number of central city bars, said the opening of Te Pae Christchurch had been a game changer in terms of early week trade.

“For those conventions that run from Sunday to Wednesday, we’ve really seen an uptake – there’s a lot more people out and about early week, which is really exciting to bring more rhythm into the city. We know Friday, Saturdays are going to be busy, there’s going to be people out and about. But it’s been great to see those Monday, Tuesday nights. They’re also a reasonable clientele in terms of spend. Especially for the Australians that come over. They haven’t seen the city in a few years, so they spend a bit more on average and per table.”

*based on EY estimates