With 429 submissions received on the proposed Queenstown convention centre, Queenstown Lakes Mayor Vanessa van Uden said she was ''very encouraged'' about the level of public participation.
After councillors voted at a special meeting last month to consult the public on the $50 million centre, submissions opened on August 1 and will end on August 31.
With over a week still to go, 429 submissions ''is a good number at this stage'', Ms van Uden said.
''It means people are taking the opportunity to have their say and give us their input,'' she said, and the council would ''get a better idea about the support or not and about the issues and opportunities people see with the proposal''.
The council has previously announced a site, known as Lakeview, above the resort's CBD as the preferred site for the centre and SkyCity Entertainment is the preferred operator.
Ms van Uden had no expectations as to how many submissions the council would receive and had not seen what people had submitted.
Two days have been set aside - September 3 and 4 - for hearings.
The official consultation form firstly asks whether the submitter agrees or disagrees with the council leading the development of a convention centre and the second question is on which site the centre should be built.
