North Melbourne is getting a room for 5,000, with Live Nation planning a purpose-built music venue at Arden Central.
Live Nation will build and run the venue itself, and expects to put on more than 100 events a year at Arden Central once the doors open. That gives international tours another Melbourne stop, and the company says it’ll make space for Australian artists and local acts too.
The site is two minutes from Arden Station on the Metro Tunnel and 1.5 kilometres from the CBD, inside the $7 billion precinct that developer Hamton and super fund Hostplus are building.
Live Nation at Arden Central
- What: purpose-built live music venue, built and run by Live Nation
- Where: Arden Central, North Melbourne, two minutes from Arden Station
- Capacity: 5,000
- Events: more than 100 a year
- Design: Blueprint Studio with Populous
- Opening: to be announced
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Blueprint Studio, Live Nation’s in-house design and development team, is drawing it up with architecture firm Populous. Guy Ngata, the company’s senior vice president of venue development, says the venue “is being designed around the live experience, creating an intimate connection between artists and fans”. Bands and crews get looked after too, with Ngata saying “outstanding artist amenities and efficient production access have been embedded into the venue’s design”.
Two Melbourne musicians who’ve toured the world are backing it. Toby Dundas, drummer in The Temper Trap, says the band “played any bar, pub, or alley in those early days”. “What excites me about a new venue, especially one in my neighbourhood, is all the moments that will happen inside,” he says. “A fan seeing their first big show, an artist stepping onto that stage for the first time, or a song uniting a room of strangers together as one.”
JET bassist Mark Wilson makes the case for the capacity. “Bands need rooms they can grow into, and 5,000 capacity is a great size,” he says. “It feels like a big occasion, but from the stage you can still connect with the people in the room.” Another one in Melbourne, he adds, “means more touring artists coming through, more opportunities for Australian bands and more live music for everyone. That can only be a good thing.”
A new Live Nation Community Events Fund will help local artists and community groups use the venue, which sits in the first stage of Arden Central. Once finished, the precinct should hold more than 5,400 homes for over 10,000 people and 5.5 hectares of open space. Melbourne Victory is building a campus there for its women’s and junior girls’ pathway programs, and North Melbourne Football Club and the University of Melbourne’s Melbourne School of Design are also on board. Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Elders and communities partnered on the precinct’s design. Live Nation hasn’t put a date on the first gig.
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