Taylor Swift at Eden Park? Residents voice overwhelming support for pop superstar concert, CEO ‘exploring options’ for more gigs

More than 93 per cent of Eden Park’s neighbours want the Auckland stadium to host at least one Taylor Swift concert, a new survey shows.

That has led Eden Park chief executive Nick Sautner to say they will be “exploring our options” with Auckland Council, to update its consents in a bid to secure more than the permitted six concerts a year.

The survey, which polled more than 1500 people in the Mt Eden and Kingsland area, was commissioned and released by the Eden Park Trust on Monday in a bid to host more large-scale events such as concerts.

The overwhelming support in favour of the stadium - capable of holding 60,000 people - hosting one of the world’s biggest pop stars comes in the midst of her ‘Eras Tour’, which began in March last year.

The tour is the American star’s first in five years and is on track to becoming the highest-grossing tour of all time. Recent predictions published by the Washington Post reckon the shows will make US$4.1 billion ($6.7b) overall, with Time magazine reporting the tour grossed US$2.2b from its North American leg alone.

Kiwi fans crossed the Tasman to catch a glimpse of the superstar. Her most recent appearance at a packed-out Melbourne Cricket Ground entertaining 96,000 Swifties on the weekend.

New Zealand fans were disappointed last June when it was announced Swift was leaving Aotearoa off her Eras Tour schedule.

At the time, the snub was rumoured to be because the country didn’t have a big enough venue to host her nearly 90-metre stage. Other theories included that she wouldn’t have been able to sell enough tickets to cover the cost of bringing the tour here.

But Sautner told the Herald one of the factors was resource consent.

“In 2020, our resource consent permitted Eden Park to hold up to six concerts in any 12-month period.”

Fans all around New Zealand weren’t ready for last June when it was announced Swift was leaving Aotearoa off her Eras Tour schedule.

Today’s survey revealed more than 90 per cent of respondents said they would support Eden Park hosting six artists, playing up to 12 shows in a calendar year.

“This resounding level of support from our residents highlights a strong desire for Eden Park to host more concerts and not be restricted by consenting processes,” Sautner said.

He added that hosting large-scale events, such as concerts, was not only essential to the stadium’s core operations, but provided economic and social benefits to the community and New Zealand.

Sautner added that, like any business, Eden Park required support from regulatory bodies to operate at its full potential.

“Securing content is extremely competitive, especially when cities like Melbourne and Sydney are offering significant incentives to promoters to attract global superstars like Taylor Swift,” he said.

“Recently, the Premier of New South Wales has increased the Sydney Football Stadium’s concert quota to 20 per year in response to mega artists looking for multiple dates or residencies.”

Ed Sheeran performing at Eden Park last year. Photo / Andrew Cornaga

Six60 played the first-ever concert at Eden Park in 2021. Photo / Eden Park

In 2021, Six60 played the first-ever concert at Eden Park and since, globally renowned artists Billy Joel, Guns N’ Roses and Ed Sheeran have each performed to sold-out crowds.

Nearly 100,000 fans attended two Sheeran concerts in February last year.

This year, Pink and Coldplay will perform five concerts at the stadium.

“Over the last three years, we have proven we can deliver world-class concerts and contribute to the vibrancy of our city,” Sautner said.

“With 97 per cent of our community telling us they’d support twice the number of concerts we’re permitted to host, we will be exploring our options with Auckland Council to update our consent and secure more international artists for Kiwi fans to enjoy, positioning us on the world stage.”

Eden Park CEO Nick Sautner. Photo / Lee Howell

Eden Park Residents Association (EPRA) spokeswoman Shona Tagg said support for concerts was widespread among residents.

“When we surveyed them [residents], we asked about things like the noise of the concert, the speed of clean-up, traffic management and the pack-down of the concert and [the] majority of people are relatively satisfied with those impacts,” Tagg said.

She said Sautner was going to attend an EPRA meeting next week to discuss details about Eden Park potentially increasing the number of concerts to 12.

The survey also comes after Eden Park recorded its most successful net operating profit year in its history, just five years after there were concerns for its future.

In the 12 months to October 31, Eden Park recorded a net operating profit of $8.263 million, a $4.618m increase on the previous year.

It came on the back of hosting major sporting fixtures for the 2022 Women’s Rugby World Cup and last year’s Fifa Women’s World Cup as well as accommodating musical legends such as Billy Joel and Guns N’ Roses.

Eden Park also recorded New Zealand’s biggest football match attendance, with 43,217 people piling into the stadium on three occasions at the Fifa Women’s World Cup last year.

More than one million people attended events at Eden Park in 2023.

Benjamin Plummer is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. He has worked for the Herald since 2022.