The new Bay Skate complex in Napier has again shown its capacity for multiple uses by being almost filled for the first night of the Mitre 10 Mega Outdoor Movies.
The former Marineland, redeveloped into Bay Skate, had one of its biggest crowds for at least a decade, perhaps beaten only by the crowd for the Ukulele Festival in November.
All 900 tickets for the first movie night sold, at $10 for adults and teens and $5 for the 12 and unders, near-filling the grandstand.
The first screening on Friday night was animated marine legend movie Moana, with the appropriate backdrop of the Pacific Ocean and Cape Kidnappers in the distance.
It was the first of three Mitre 10 Mega Outdoor Movies nights at the Napier City Council-owned skate park, with American fantasy feature and Academy Award-winning The Jungle Book next-up this Friday, and New Zealand adventure comedy Hunt for the Wilderpeople completing the season on February 10, each with tickets still available.