Night opening hours set to be cut at new Powerhouse museum

Extended night opening hours and a three-week launch festival for the $1 billion Powerhouse Parramatta are under intense scrutiny and likely to be rolled back as NSW Treasury scrambles for cost savings just weeks ahead of the museum’s ribbon-cutting.

The new leadership team is looking to close exhibitions to the public most nights – bringing the museum’s general admission operating hours into line with other major cultural institutions, said several sources not authorised to speak publicly.

This would leave the museum staying open late for shows on one night weekly, not seven days as originally planned.

The museum’s original business case – and the plan championed by former chief executive Lisa Havilah – envisioned Powerhouse Parramatta operating seven days a week from 9am to 9pm. Extended public evening access was considered central to driving western Sydney’s nightlife and reaching the museum’s ambitious target of 2 million annual visitors.

The reduced schedule is one of several measures contemplated by the government to belatedly rein in a $50 million shortfall in the museum’s allocated $145 million operating budget while effectively dismantling key elements of an operational model it had long endorsed.

However, any curtailment of hours will face strong opposition from local business advocates relying on the precinct to fuel Parramatta’s nighttime economy, and will be a sensitive topic in the countdown to the March state election.

“I think it would be a mistake to have the region’s newest and biggest cultural investment only open to the public during standard opening hours,” said Adam Leto, chief executive of the Western Sydney Leadership Dialogue. “The Powerhouse is not a bank. This is an anchor attraction that will help fuel the area’s night economy but for that to happen, it needs to actually be open at night.”

Leto added that the precinct represented a vital asset for the region. “We want as many people as possible to engage with the spaces, the exhibitions and the hospitality offering it provides. To have the doors closed after hours is a real missed opportunity.”

Late-night operating hours directly underpinned the commercial revenue projections that justified the museum’s feasibility assessment in 2019 and convinced the former Coalition government to approve the project.

But separating general visitors from evening function guests while allowing adequate time for cleaning and security was said to be challenging. Under a mixed-use model unique to Australia, the new building offers high-end event spaces, including tiered retractable seating for 700 delegates, the 662-square-metre Presentation Space 7 that accommodates up to 600 cocktail guests with an adjoining riverfront terrace, and a 2000-square-metre rooftop garden with covered pavilion.

Furthermore, adjustments to staff schedules for curators and conservators to support night operations are yet to be negotiated with the Public Service Association.

Acting chief executive Abbie Galvin said many components of the new Powerhouse Parramatta operations, including exhibition opening hours, were yet to be finalised.