KEY POINTS:
The Ellerslie Flower Show has upped sticks to Hagley Park in Christchurch. Hamilton got the V8 supercars and Wellington snatched the World of Wearable Arts from Nelson after Auckland didn't even bother putting in a bid.
There is a suggestion Christchurch City Council paid between $1 million and
$2 million to buy the flower show, which was too much for the Auckland councils.
But as Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker noted last week, Christchurch is one united city. Auckland is made up of seven territorial councils and one regional council.
In the case of the Ellerslie show, it was held at the regional council's Botanic Gardens in Manukau. It received $90,000 a year in sponsorship from the Manukau City Council and the Auckland City Council was invited to help keep it north of the Bombay Hills.
But Auckland City pulled back from making a $50,000 contribution. The bidding war - which included the Hamilton City Council - was beyond Manukau, and the ARC saw its role as restricted to providing the venue.
It was an all-too-familiar story for Tourism Auckland chief executive Graeme Osborne, watching the show pack up for the last time after attracting 65,000 and pouring $14 million into the regional economy.
"The loss of the Ellerslie Flower Show is symptomatic of the lack of regional cohesion, strategy and determination in terms of attracting, maintaining and retaining major events.
"These major events are not just about commercial opportunities for event organisers. They make Auckland what it is as a place to live and to visit."
Mr Osborne praised the previous Auckland City Council, which more than doubled its events budget from $500,000 to $1.24 million, appointed an experienced events manager, set out to identify signature events and streamlined its infamous record of tying up organisers in red tape.
City events manager Rachael Dacy, a recent recruit who headed Melbourne city's planning for last year's Commonwealth Games, says a major events team she leads with financial input from other councils was proof the region could work together.
The team helped to organise this month's World Netball Championships at Waitakere's Trusts Stadium. It is working on next year's under-17 world soccer championships at North Harbour Stadium and the 2011 Rugby World Cup, and is looking at how Auckland could benefit from the 2010 World Rowing Championships at Lake Karapiro.
New Mayor John Banks and Citizens and Ratepayers allies are not so enthusiastic about events.
They rejected an officers' recommendation to give $50,000 to try to keep the Ellerslie show in Auckland because it was in Manukau City and on the ARC's patch.
Mr Banks says he wants to continue developing music, culture, arts and events, but like all items of council expenditure, the events budget will be reviewed as part of a mission to peg back rate rises.
The car-loving Mr Banks says he would love to bring the Melbourne Motor Show to the ASB Showgrounds in Greenlane, but the price would be prohibitive without some rationalisation of how events are organised and funded.
This, he says, needs to come under the microscope of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Auckland.
Another initiative on the go is plans by the ARC's business unit, AucklandPlus, to issue an events strategy for the region before Christmas.
AucklandPlus group manager Clyde Rogers says research shows the need for an improved and more cohesive approach so the region is in a better position to bid for major events. One could be the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
Meanwhile, a week after the Ellerslie Flower Show packed up, plans have started to hold a "bigger and better" show at the botanic gardens.
ARC parks manager Lance Vervoort says he has been inundated with calls from potential exhibitors and event managers. "We are in discussion with Manukau City Council looking at the options for a new iconic show."
