Case study: Showcasing our sporting best on the international stage
Celebrating everyone from the grassroots volunteers and administrators to the game’s leading players, the ANZ New Zealand Cricket Awards is a marquee event on the national sporting calendar, broadcast live to a national and international audience.
Held outside of Auckland for the first time in more than eight years, the annual event was hosted at Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre in March 2024, after a successful bid from the city, supported by the Canterbury Cricket Association and the Canterbury Cricket Trust.
New Zealand Cricket General Manager Venues, Facilities and Events Graham Parks says the event was a great opportunity for NZC to bring the awards to Christchurch, to showcase the city and the region.
“Te Pae Christchurch is such an amazing venue, not only aesthetically, as an incredibly fantastic venue to hold such an award, but also with the ability for us to broadcast the event,” says Graham. “The scale of the venue was a real point of difference, giving us the ability to dress, design and utilise the space differently from the traditionally smaller venues we have used in the past.”
Neil Wagner recognised at the New Zealand Cricket Awards at Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre, Christchurch, New Zealand on Wednesday 13 March 2024. Photo credit: www.photosport.nz
Flexible planning
Planning for the event took place over more than five months, involving a large group of stakeholders, including major sponsors, with the added complexity of working through a jam-packed summer of cricket.
“End-to-end, the planning process was really positive and a credit to all members of the Te Pae team – from the business development group when we started with the concept, through to the facilities management team on how we were going to use the space, how our broadcast was set up, how our production partners would use it, all the way through to the catering team, designing a delicious menu that enabled us to serve within tight timeframes, to get meals out and have them cleared and ready to go to broadcast.”
“The size and the scale of the venue just supports the ease of delivering an event like this, especially with the broadcast component,” says Graham. “And that’s the point of difference here, bringing an outside broadcast (OB) truck on site, setting up the links – the build and the design of Te Pae allows that process to be integrated. The venue is unique in the New Zealand landscape, given its functionality and the ability to operate with ease.”
Unique functionality
The awards event is divided into two parts, with the first segment – including the ‘blue-carpet’ arrivals and interviews of the players and special guests, filmed off-air and packaged as part of the broadcast, and the second segment featuring the live awards.
“The functionality of the space meant we had guests in the room, which gave great depth and a sense of occasion for the media,” says Graham. “Moreover, we were able to facilitate the news crews, to do their crosses to the news hour and drop into the sports news, while also being able to cater to all the other guests.”
After the live broadcast awards segment, which is tightly run over 90 minutes, the players and guests then had the opportunity to relax and mingle and mark the occasion with a photo wall.
“The overall design of the room made it feel intimate but still provided people with space.”
General view of the ANZ New Zealand Cricket Awards at Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre, Christchurch, New Zealand on Wednesday 13 March 2024. Photo: Darin Young / Photosport
Ideal location
For the VIP guests, including the international players, getting to-and-from the venue was also easy.
“Early on in the process, we were able to identify and hold multiple hotels within walking distance,” says Graham. “And that kind of access and movement within the city made it very user friendly.”
Direct access to the city was also an important consideration, particularly given the players’ international schedules.
“More often than not, the day after the awards, several of the Black Caps need to leave to fly to the IPL in India,” says Graham. “Now the nature of the city is that you can get outbound international flights from Christchurch into Singapore or into Dubai via Sydney.”
Showcase event
Overall, response to the event was extremely positive.
“There was unanimous support from our board and CEO by way of a fantastic event,” says Graham. “There was also a really high level of compliments from TVNZ and our production partners, in terms of the ease with which they were able to set up, run and deliver in that venue.”
“I think the key thing that stood out, which is so important in the event world and when you’re planning an event, is the ability to anticipate requests and help facilitate a resolution in quick fashion. There was always a willingness to help us adapt through the design and the delivery phase, which is a real credit to the team at Te Pae.”
(Photos: Darin Young, Photosport)
