Venues NSW has prepared a business case for the Hunter Park precinct, which would surround the stadium with hotels and eateries. A new 11,000-capacity entertainment centre would connect to the stadium via a public plaza.

Newcastle lord mayor Nuatali Nelmes said Sir Elton John's concerts on Sunday and Tuesday showed the venue could host big events which benefited the entire city and region. City of Newcastle has partnered with Venues NSW to bring more events to the stadium.

"There was 50,000 people in two nights that went through the stadium and $12 million delivered into the city's economy," she said.

"So many people came up to me and said 'thank you for working together to get this here. Can we have more?' and I said, 'that's the plan'.

"The plan is to have more events like that at the stadium and use the precinct as a sporting and entertainment precinct with that international angle as well. And hopefully, come March, we'll have a government that will want to invest in infrastructure for major events that serves a local population.

"We've been pushing the sports entertainment precinct for quite some time. What's needed is state government to take the lead and ensure there is investment in that type of infrastructure."

McDonald Jones Stadium venue manager Dean Mantle said the shows demonstrated Newcastle could handle a bigger and better entertainment zone.

"We've also proven there's interest there," he said. "Promoters have actually commented prior to this that they've been interested to come.

"Not only Frontier [Touring] but there's been other promoters who have reached out and suggested if there was a 11,000-seat arena in the Newcastle area they'd be more than happy to come.

"I think we've proven we can do it and the city has proven they will get behind these events coming in and they'll support them, buy tickets, buy the merch and they'll come and visit the city itself.

"So we've certainly aided that case and I think if we can pull it off and get the funding we need, it will be hugely beneficial for everyone."

Elton John promoter and Frontier Touring founder Michael Chugg, said there were a select number of acts who could sell out the 30,000-capacity stadium, but an arena for 11,000 people would appeal to many more artists.

"That would open it up," he said. "A lot more acts would come to Newcastle.

"There's a lot of acts that don't play the entertainment centre now because it's too small."

He said having restaurants and hotels near the stadium would also be a huge benefit.

"Melbourne has the greatest entertainment precinct in the world," he said. "And in Newcastle if you put in a new entertainment centre, hotels and restaurants, you've actually got a real precinct where people want to go, because it's so good.

"Newcastle has become a very beautiful city and it keeps improving every time I go up there. So I think, full steam ahead."

The only hiccup at the concerts was a shortage of buses to transport people to and from the venue.

Cr Nelmes said the vision for Hunter Park was a light rail extension to Broadmeadow, which would "deliver people back and forth straight into the city in mass transit".

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