World-famous rock stars could soon be holding concerts in “the suburbs” with the announcement of the Sunshine Coast’s largest music venue to be built in Aura.
The team behind Brisbane’s popular Eatons Hill and Bribie Island’s Sandstone Point hotels has revealed a $35 million development for the Aura masterplanned estate.
The new venue, capable of holding 2500 patrons, will include indoor and outdoor dining, six bars, gaming room or function spaces.
It will open in late 2024 in Aura’s future city centre entertainment precinct and back onto what will eventually be an 11-hectare Southbank-style parkland.
The project was announced by the Comiskey Group whose award-winning venues have played host to international musicians like Prince, Post Malone, Khalid, Joan Jett, Ice Cube, Good Charlotte and Bryan Adams.
The group said it planned to “bring similar music heavyweights to the suburbs”.
It follows their announcement earlier this year of a Coachella-style outdoor festival precinct on 150 hectares of disused turf and strawberry farms named Coochin Fields, south of Caloundra.
“The Comiskey Group’s $35M investment will be the crowning jewel of Aura’s premium entertainment hub in the city centre,” said a press release.
“Equipped with first-rate entertainment facilities currently unseen in the region, the venue will boast a world-class PA and lighting system, band room, mezzanine level and the capacity to host over 2,500 patrons.
“Intent on further cementing the Sunshine Coast’s reputation as a live music hub, the new venue presents the unique opportunity for local, interstate and international artists to bring their tours to the bustling community.”
Group director Rob Comiskey said Aura was a natural fit for their next major venture.
“South-East Queensland is where we were born and raised, we are passionate about bringing premium experiences to locations rich with opportunity in this thriving state.
“We have the largest entertainment offering in the Moreton Bay region and felt it only natural to expand into the neighbouring Sunshine Coast.
“Aura sits just 10 minutes from our Coochin Fields site, so we’re excited to create a thriving epicentre of entertainment for the Sunshine Coast and bring something really special to this already innovative and unique community.”
Aura is already home to more than 10,000 residents, with the potential for 20,000 new homes and 20,000 on-site jobs upon completion.
The future City Centre is proposed to include a regional shopping centre, cinemas, restaurants, cafes, medical facilities, an urban university campus, private schools, transit centre, and vibrant public spaces.
Stockland Aura project director Josh Sondergeld said the company was “thrilled” The Comiskey Group had chosen Aura as the location for its next venue to “give our
growing community access to a world-class entertainment destination”.
“We look forward to welcoming this venue which will become a recreational hub for our residents and visitors to enjoy a family meal, celebrate a milestone or attend a major live international act,” said Mr Sondergeld.
Comiskey Group’s entertainment director Jonathan (Jono) Jackson said the ewn venue would help fill a “gap” in the market.
“The region’s ongoing population growth creates demand for premium production opportunities locally. Sunshine Coast and Aura residents can expect world-class talent on their doorstep,” he said.
