Inside the recently refurbished and renamed Sir Howard Morrison Centre in Rotorua.
The legacy of Sir Howard Morrison will “live on forever” now the newly-refurbished centre is open, his son says.
However, the forecast final cost of restoring the Sir Howard Morrison Centre is $36.5 million - more than double its original budget set in 2017 of $17.9 million, Rotorua Lakes Council has confirmed.
“It’s not only his legacy on the stage because he did a lot for the community and indeed the whole country off the stage.”
He said the theatre would attract bigger acts due to its 1000-seat capacity.
“You’ve got the top-of-the-line sound and lighting equipment ... so it’s pretty exciting for the whole city and the whole community because bigger theatre, bigger shows.”
Howie Morrison Junior with a copy of How Great Thou Art, his book about his dad, Sir Howard Morrison. Photo / Andrew Warner
Today, the centre is hosting a free-to-public Rā a Whānau (Whānau Open Day) from 10am to 2pm. There will be performances, workshops, live music, behind-the-scenes tours and food trucks.
In a statement yesterday, the council’s community wellbeing deputy chief executive Anaru Pewhairangi confirmed the forecast final cost for the restoration of the centre was $36.5m.
Pewhairangi said the figure was within the approved final budget for the project and included additional external funding which was secured.
“The building is a Category One listed building with historic significance so [the] council chose to restore it rather than build a new performing arts centre (which was estimated to cost [about] $80m in 2017).”
Rotorua mayor Tania Tapsell at the official opening of the Sir Howard Morrison Centre on Thursday night. Photo / Rotorua Lakes Council
Pewhairangi said $24.6m was funded by the council and $11.9m was funded externally.
“We are grateful for the generous gift from long-time friend of Sir Howard, Sir Owen Glenn who provided $3m for the Sir Owen Glenn / Matangi Rau theatre and to the trusts and foundations who have supported this project.”
Pewhairangi said the early estimate of $17.9m in 2017 was priced “prior to a detailed building investigation and design”.
“As such, the original project scope did not include the unknown challenges uncovered during testing and construction around the building’s condition, in particular significant façade and structural issues that drove a major budget variation.
“It was also provided prior to market-pricing and with no way of forecasting the impact of Covid-19 on production delays and construction cost inflation.”
The centre was closed to the public in November 2017 after a seismic assessment concluded the Category 1 historic building - which was built in 1931 - was earthquake-prone, at just 25 per cent of the New Building Standard (NBS). The threshold for a building to be considered earthquake-prone is less than 34 per cent NBS.
The project had originally been costed at $17.9m but secured $22.5m in mid-2019, which was made up of $11.5m from the council and the remainder from external groups such as the NZ Lottery Grants Board, Glenn Family Foundation, and Rotorua Energy Charitable Trust.
The Sir Howard Morrison Centre in August 2022. Photo / Andrew Warner
In July 2021 it was reported the budget rose to $33.7m, with the council contribution to this almost doubling from $11.5m to $22.6m. This had been approved by the council in a confidential meeting in June.
At the time a council statement said the building was found to be in a poorer state than had been expected and required additional funding to address the issues.
The statement said the foundations of the building differed from its original plans, requiring structural design alternations.
There was also more cracking, including structural cracking, in the walls.
Exterior walls - which were originally to be encapsulated and painted - now required paint or plaster removal and repair to ensure the building’s strength and water tightness, it said.
The level of asbestos removal required increased from 20 per cent to 80 per cent of the building.
The re-opening of the centre has also been delayed over the years due in part to Covid-related lockdowns.
Sir Howard Morrison Performing Arts Centre Whānau Open Day
Sir Howard Morrison Centre performing arts director Janelle Bish said there would be three different stages for performances at the Whānau Open Day, including the John Paul College orchestra, the Rotorua Symphonic band, Amjazz, a hula group, a kapa haka workshop, and opera.
“It’s a packed programme and we want it to just feel really relaxed for people.”
She hoped about 500 people would attend. People could show up on the day - no registration or tickets are required.
Bish said the centre represented a “blank canvas” for the city.
“This week marks the moment at which we get to welcome our community, particularly our performing arts community, back into the space so that they feel really, first and foremost, like it’s a place for them ... and that they can not only see their heroes on stage but be performing alongside them as well.
“We just want the community to love it and then we need to rebuild a hungry arts audience and then we can start attracting those big international acts as well.”
