A proud local partnership

In September 2021 Hamilton-based media company GLOBOX entered into a naming rights partnership with H3, Hamilton City Council’s event venues division, for its 6000-capacity indoor arena at Claudelands. One year on, with the partnership now bedded in, GLOBOX Arena, Claudelands is maximising on the strength of this relationship to help attract a diverse range of quality events to the city.

When thousands of fans packed into the venue in August to experience the TAB NZ Darts Masters 2022, the GLOBOX Arena logo sat proudly illuminated on each side of the stage.  With a large global television audience tuning into the event, it was a significant moment for both GLOBOX and H3 teams – after a two-year delay in hosting the event due to Covid-19, the return of the New Zealand leg of the Word Series of Darts was a celebration of a return to normality for live events like these.

Sean Murray, Hamilton City Council General Manager of Venues, Tourism and Major Events, says while Covid was around when the naming rights agreement was made with GLOBOX, no one could’ve anticipated what was to come – with major restrictions on events and venues throughout the first six months of the partnership.­

“To say that was a challenging period for events and venues would be an understatement.  For our naming rights partnership with GLOBOX to come into effect at a time when we couldn’t actually hold any events or welcome crowds into the arena was not a scenario we had pre-empted, so we were extremely grateful to have GLOBOX stick with us and ride out the storm alongside our H3 team,” he says.

Since the easing and eventual lifting of restrictions on events, H3 are thrilled to be now hosting a steady stream of diverse content in GLOBOX Arena.

Over the past few months the venue has hosted everything from ANZ Premiership netball, The Wiggles, L.A.B and Sticky Fingers, through to the annual Hospice Waikato & Montana Food & Events Bucket List Banquet and University of Waikato and Wintec graduations, with more exciting events and announcements on its way for the months ahead.

“We are very proud to have a great range of events coming through GLOBOX Arena, Claudelands once again. With the uncertainty of the past few years behind us, now is the time we can begin to really show GLOBOX the true value of our partnership.

“We know for Allan and the GLOBOX team, this relationship means much more to them than simply having their logo attached to the venue – it is about signalling their commitment to Hamilton, giving back to the community and remaining as invested as we are in making GLOBOX Arena as successful as it can be for our city, which is exactly what we’d hope for in a naming rights partner.”