September 06, 2010

By By Lars Brandle, Brisbane

Metallica's two sold-out shows next month in Christchurch should go ahead despite the earthquakes which struck New Zealand's second-biggest city over the weekend.

The American heavy rock outfit is booked to play Sept. 21 and 22 at Christchurch's CBS Canterbury Arena (formerly known as Westpac Arena), a 9,000-capacity venue operated by locally-based management company Vbase. Fear Factory and the Sword will support.

In a memo to clients, Vbase today (Sept. 6) assuaged concerns of any damage done by Saturday's (Sept. 4) earthquakes on the country's South Island.

Vbase CEO Bryan Pearson says it does not appear that either its 50,000-capacity AMI Stadium or CBS Canterbury Arena have sustained structural damage, confirmation on which will be announced when engineers have completed their assessment this Wednesday (Sept. 8).

The company's Christchurch Convention Centre and Christchurch Town Hall for Performing Arts have been cleared of structural damage and will reopen at 8am Wednesday.

The good news will be welcomed by Michael Coppel Presents, promoter of Metallica's 20-date tour of Australia and New Zealand, which kicks off Sept. 15 at Melbourne's Rod Laver Arena.

A state of emergency will remain in place until Wednesday across Christchurch, following the quake which measured 7.1 on the Richter scale. The city's central business district has suffered hundreds of millions worth of damage, but incredibly no deaths have been reported.

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