The Aotea Centre is a performing arts and events centre / theatre in the Auckland CBD, Auckland City, New Zealand. Located at the western edge of Aotea Square, off Queen Street, the centre provides cultural venue space in the heart of the city and is managed by 'The Edge' (which also operates the Auckland Town Hall and the Auckland Civic Theatre, both close by around the square). The main construction of the centre was finished in 1989, with the centre opening in 1990 having cost NZ$ 128.5 million.[1][2]
The centre provides a range of foyers, gallery spaces and function rooms as well as a 2,256 seat 'ASB Auditorium' and the much smaller 186-seat Herald theatre, which is mainly used by small independent theatre companies.[1]
In 2011, an upgrade of Aotea Square also included a major facelift of the public stairs in front of the centre, including creating a cafe space under a large veranda open to the square.