Why is only one area of the city suitable for a Conservatorium?

The university believes that its vision of a National Conservatorium of Music will succeed at the Arts Centre but is less likely to succeed at Ilam because it would be difficult to attract staff of sufficient renown there. But whether the conservatorium is located on the Ilam campus or at the Arts Centre is surely not going to be the critical factor in attracting quality staff.  Most teachers of performance have performing careers themselves and New Zealand is a long way from the major centres of performance.  New Zealand academic salaries do not provide sufficient inducement to compensate for distance.  

However, if the university is successful in attracting the sort of staff they want and a central location is part of the inducement, on what grounds can it assert that only this one site will be sufficient attraction.  The area in the vicinity of the Odeon theatre, which would make an ideal performance venue, has a number of areas suitable for development as well as the advantage of proximity to CPIT and the Music Centre.  The developing lanes culture of this part of town surely offers the sort of urban lifestyle which it is claimed would be necessary to attract staff of sufficient calibre.   If the university's claim to wish to stimulate revitilization of the city is to be taken seriously, then this part of town is the very area which needs additional stimulus. The Arts Centre area already has a wide range of attractions which ensures its vitality. The belief that this site alone will do is essentially a vote of no confidence in the rest of the city