The Carterton Events Centre. PHOTO/FILE
CHELSEA BOYLE
The $8.9 million jewel in Carterton’s crown might yet cost another $120,000 as a new storage space is set to be added to the Carterton Events Centre.
The performance of the popular community hub was reviewed by Carterton District Council’s Community Services Manager Carolyn McKenzie ahead of the infrastructure and services committee meeting on October 11.
The report said that while bookings and revenue gained by the centre were tracking upwards, changes needed to be made to the space for auditorium users.
Bookings for the centre have climbed from 652 in the financial year 2015/16 to 789 in the financial year ending June 30 this year.
This lifted the revenue the centre was making off rentals to $72,000 in 2016 /17, compared to actual receipts for 2015/16 which accumulated $61,000.
In the annual plan $120,000 was budgeted to create a new storage shed for the auditorium and refurbish the existing room so it could be used as another meeting space.
The auditorium is tipped to be a good revenue earner as the annual plan saw the biggest lift in hire price aimed at commercial users in the auditorium with the fee jumping from $400 to $500 per day.
Other changes have been underway to improve what was on offer at the centre with three staff members completing a license controllers qualification, costing $217.39 per person, so alcohol could be served at events.
As of last April, Carterton District Council started paying hire fees for meeting rooms and for the month of June this resulted in an extra $927 in the coffers of Carterton Events Centre.
The report complied by Ms McKenzie credited strong marketing and an improved website for the uptake in interest in the centre.
The Carterton Events Centre was going from strength to strength, she said.
“With an increase of bookings in the past 12 months, resulting in increased revenue, we are in an enviable position regarding growth and venue use,” she said.
“We have created an atmosphere where customer retention is the norm rather than the expectation resulting in overwhelming positive feedback.”
She said a lot of the recent growth had come from more commercial bookings and the auditorium was now being fully utilized, which had been a goal since opening.
“However, we are incredibly grateful to our regular community users, and understand that they are the backbone of our success.
“We pride ourselves on delivering an affordable, state of the art facility which can be utilized by different groups with widely different needs.”
