CEO Greg Hunt says he heard from an Otago Daily Times reporter who’d been speaking to his Greenstone Entertainment business partner, Amanda Calvert.
He knew parking was becoming an issue as development of his company’s Gibbston Valley Resort started gobbling up more of that land.
"I left it with [Amanda Calvert’s husband] Dean, if he could overcome the parking problem, then, you know, we could hold more."
What Hunt didn’t know was Dean Calvert had already learned there’d not be enough buses south of Christchurch to then ferry concert-goers to the venue from a replacement carpark further away.
"If we could bus people in, that would be an answer, but the availability was the issue."
So did he feel blindsided by his business partners?
"That’s a bit extreme, but I wasn’t aware they were talking to the media."
Hunt says if parking hadn’t been an issue, the venue, which has hosted concerts for the past 15 years, could have been used for two more years before the resort encroached across the road.
"There’s no doubt it’s a great site. It truly is perfect for holding concerts."
Though another Queenstown venue needs to be found, Hunt says his company’s still happy to be a Greenstone business partner — "we’ll still be an active part of the concert".
As for the new site, "I don’t believe it will in Gibbston, I think we’ll be looking further afield".
But that’s up the Calverts, he adds.
