Auckland Showgrounds

Auckland Showgrounds is the country's largest dedicated exhibition site, at 217 Greenlane Road West, Epsom — minutes from the Auckland CBD and next to Cornwall Park and Alexandra Park Raceway. Now operated by NZEEC and previously known as the ASB Showgrounds (and before that the Epsom Showgrounds), it offers more than 18,000 m² of indoor and outdoor exhibition space and is built for trade shows, consumer expos, large exhibitions and conference-plus-exhibition events rather than for boutique meetings.

The spaces

The main exhibition area houses nine halls. The venue's site map lists Pavilion 1 at 2,086 m² (43.2 m x 47.4 m), Pavilion 2 at 3,008 m² (43.2 m x 69.1 m) and Pavilions 3–4 combined at 5,544 m² (77.2 m x 71.9 m). A separate 1,055 m² space is configured for 3,000 seated, and a further 1,193 m² hall (48.9 m x 22.4 m) is available. Smaller rooms include Seminar 1 (145 m²), Seminar 2 (139 m²), a 253 m² space and a 165 m² space — useful for conference streams, exhibitor briefings, speaker programmes and organiser offices running alongside a show floor.

Because the halls are large-span pavilions rather than fixed-seat auditoria, layouts are highly flexible: exhibition booths, banqueting, product launches, awards nights and vehicle displays are all catered for. Car parking is available on site, with parking fees applying.

History and events

The site first hosted an agricultural show on 19 December 1843, organised by the Auckland Agricultural and Pastoral Association, and the venue promotes more than 160 years of continuous event use. The show ran annually with wartime exceptions and became the Auckland Easter Show in 1953. During the 1990 Commonwealth Games the grounds hosted boxing in the 3,000-seat Logan Campbell Centre, judo in the East Pavilion and weightlifting in the Carter Holt Pavilion. The former operating company went into liquidation — reported by the New Zealand Herald in 2021 — and the site now trades as Auckland Showgrounds.

Its recurring calendar shows what the venue does best: the Auckland Home Show, the NZ Gift & Homeware Fair, the Baby Show and the Auckland Pet Animal Expo all run here.

For MICE buyers, Auckland Showgrounds is the obvious choice when floor area, load-in access and exhibitor volume matter most — large trade and consumer exhibitions, conference exhibition floors, and big-format corporate events close to the city centre.