VenuesWest chairman Graham Partridge announced last Wednesday that Arena Joondalup would host the February 2 event.
‘After more than 150,000 festival visitors to the venue in the last three years, it is not surprising to see one of Australia’s best brands in Australian music make the move north,’ he said.
Mr Molony said it was evident about two weeks ago that the RAS and promoter AJ Maddah would be unable to reach an agreement to host this year’s event.
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READ NOW‘We do not want to compromise on our safety standards,’ he said.
‘We’re not that concerned about it, it was a hard negotiation.’
Mr Molony said it was unlikely that Soundwave, also promoted by AJ Maddah, would be held at the Showground in March.
Maddah echoed these sentiments on Twitter after responding to a question.
‘We’re working with Future to see if we can make venue share work,’ he said.
Arena Joondalup will host Future Music Festival on March 2 and new under-18 event Good Life on March 3 ” the same date proposed for Soundwave.
Arena Joondalup has previously been approved for 45,000 people, while the Showground can fit 50,000.
‘Future Music is more than double the size of Big Day Out, so capacity is simply not an issue,’ a VenuesWest spokesman said.
He said it was likely normal operations of Arena Joondalup would be closed for the Sunday of Big Day Out.
‘This venue has proved very popular, especially with the young people of Joondalup and Wanneroo,’ he said.
‘Outdoor music events run like a well-oiled machine, and stay in line with the local council’s noise and end-time regulations.’