Dream to bring 'bigger events to Albury' as $30m upgrade avoids axe

The $30 million upgrade to the convention wing of the Albury Entertainment Centre has survived a review from the NSW government after Regional NSW Minister Tara Moriarty announced on Thursday, January 25, it would provide $15 million for the project, first announced by former Deputy Premier Paul Toole in 2022 when the Liberal Party was in office.

Albury Council will contribute $5 million to the project, with the remaining $10 million to come from the federal government.

The upgrades will allow a capacity of almost 2000 patrons across two levels with the addition of new pre-function spaces, offices and meeting rooms, revamped theatrette, loading dock and an expanded multipurpose events area.

Regional NSW Minister Tara Moriarty said Albury was entitled to have a world class centre to attract bigger events.

"We've been clear and honest with the community that we had to have a look at things that were on the books or not and to make some decisions about what we would continue to invest in or not," she said.

"We've made some pretty tough calls in the budget in September last year because we did inherit a pretty significant black hole, but we've committed to this project because I, as the Minister for Regional NSW, and the Labor NSW government, can see the benefit to the community of Albury.

"Albury went through a lot, particularly during that COVID period, and this is a good opportunity to invest in future opportunities, acknowledging the difficult times that were experienced across the community over the last couple of years.

"We're looking forward to the benefits that this will bring."

Albury mayor Kylie King expected construction to start in 2026 and be completed in 2028.

Tenders are set to be awarded later this year before detailed planning can commence, which is likely to take another 12 months.

"Yes it is tough fiscally and to have that confirmation from the minister that we've ticked all the boxes, our business cases have been strong, and to have that commitment endorsed is a wonderful feeling," Cr King said.

"We do know that our entertainment centre already is quite widely regarded as a great centre, but it is ageing. It was built in 1972, so it's most definitely in need of a redevelopment because we are getting a lot of interest when it comes to events.

"It's not just Albury that benefits from that. It's the surrounding regions, it's different suppliers, it has benefits obviously in Wodonga with accommodation providers. There's a whole host of winners out of that.

"We just can't wait to to get on with it and look forward to those wonderful opportunities coming our way."

Albury Entertainment Centre venue manager Brendan Maher said it was a "dream come true" and would make it the leading venue in regional Australia.

"Medium touring bands that potentially could use more capacity could do so because this development will probably allow for about 1500 to 1800 people at a stand-up concert. It's actually creating more opportunities to attract bigger events to Albury for the community," he said.

"The entertainment side will attract more from this, but this will really be for our business events.

"We also might be able to design signature events that we haven't been able to because we haven't had the capacity. Things like food and wine festivals or bigger expos that might trade for three or four days.

"The expansion is going to provide a new and unique space, so we'd be able to do multiple events at once, which we can't at the moment."