Over the years, I’ve seen first-hand how cities grow as a live events destination, and how much of that comes down to how well they use the venue infrastructure they already have. The strategy rarely comes down to the size of a stadium, instead it often comes down to how intentional the decisions are about where events are held and why.
Intentionality is about being deliberate. It’s about making conscious choices about fit and scale, and thinking about what an event could become, not just what it’s been in the past. It means choosing venues based on demand and opportunity, rather than defaulting to habit or history.
These choices are important because events are not just entertainment. They drive economic activity, create jobs, and deliver social and cultural benefits that help make our cities great places to live, stay and play. The way we use our venues has a direct impact on how much value those events generate for our communities, businesses and the wider economy.
I’m the first to acknowledge that not every live event needs a 50,000-seat stadium. But it’s short-sighted to rule out using a larger venue when the demand, significance or growth potential of an event justifies it. The challenge, and the opportunity we have, is to choose the venue that best fits the event, regardless of whether it’s a sports match, concert, cultural festival, community gathering, conference or function.
Smaller venues play an important role in any city. For many events, they provide the right atmosphere, the right economics and the right experience. The issue arises when those choices stop being intentional and instead become fixed by assumption simply because “that’s how it’s always been done”.
If an event is held in a smaller venue by default, the ceiling is set immediately. Crowd attendance is capped, tickets sales are constrained and the wider economic and social benefits that come with growth, from hospitality and accommodation through to vibrancy of our city, are limited before the first ticket is even sold. Equally when a smaller event is held in a larger venue and there are empty seats, the criticism is often immediate, but it doesn’t tell the full story. What matters is whether the venue of best fit approach was taken.
Having worked in and visited many large-scale stadiums in other cities, I’ve seen first-hand how different approaches to venue use shape outcomes.
Internationally, cities with developed event ecosystems distribute major events across a network of venues, each chosen to fit the event type and audience. In Melbourne, for example, large-scale sport and AFL grand finals are held at the MCG, concerts and large indoor events at Marvel Stadium, tennis and arena concerts at Rod Laver and Margaret Court arenas, and rectangular-field sports and entertainment at AAMI Park, reflecting a range of uses rather than reliance on a single stadium.
Similarly, in London, Wembley, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Twickenham, and The O2 each play distinct roles within a broader ecosystem. Events move between venues as they grow, change or target different audiences.
What these, and other cities, have in common is intentional decision-making centred around ‘venue of best fit’.
Large stadiums are not the answer for every event. But for some events, they are essential. When an event has a strong national or international pull, proven growth over time, or the ability to attract travelling audiences, hosting it in a venue that cannot scale can be a false economy. Limiting capacity doesn’t reduce interest. It just means the economic and social benefits of that interest are realised somewhere else.
Intentionality means recognising when scale is part of the opportunity, not something to be avoided. It also means understanding that hosting certain events in larger venues is not about chasing numbers for their own sake, but about maximising the value events deliver – economically, socially and culturally.
The most useful question is not “Which venue has always hosted this event?” It is, “Which venue best fits this event now, and where could it go next?”
That shift in thinking changes the conversation. It ensures that our city’s major infrastructure is used deliberately, in ways that support vibrant cities and strong communities.
A regional and national stadium strategy, at its core, is simply about being more intentional about how we use the venues we have – the right venue, in the right way, at the right time, based on what an event is and what it could become.
