Since its opening in the 1980s, our Wollongong City Mall has divided opinions on its worth. Everyone seems to have an opinion. You either love it or hate it.
New statistics just released by Wollongong Council has shown an unprecedented increase in the numbers visiting the mall in the past 12 months.
Reported in Council’s latest quarterly review: "The number of people movements in the Crown Street Mall have increased from 1.2 million in June 2024 to 3.75 million in June 2025."
No clear reason is given for the increase but the report does highlight regular free events hosted by Council including Live@Lunch as bringing life to the CBD. Other community events that bring people into other parts of the city also benefit the mall.
May's Wollongong Chilli Festival and the Lord Mayor’s big keys to the city ceremony for the championship-winning Illawarra Hawks have also drawn many thousands to the mall. In fact, the Hawks’ barnstorming surge to glory last season resulted in full houses at the Sandpit and cafes, bars and restaurants in the city were certainly the beneficiaries.
Regular weekend rallies in support of the people of Gaza have also boosted crowd numbers in the city and the Thursday night food markets and Friday produce and craft markets are as popular as ever.
The Illawarra Flame is still awaiting detail from Council on how the visitor numbers to the Mall are calculated. Council will hope the positive news might help efforts to reopen the many empty shopfronts currently along the stretch of the mall. It is certainly a poke in the eye for those who say the mall has been a disaster for business and have lobbied for years to see it reopened to traffic.
Meanwhile, there’s more good economic news in Council’s latest report with the city four years ahead of schedule, achieving 100 per cent of the jobs target set in its 2019-2029 economic strategy.
In the first six years of the strategy, local employment numbers increased by 10,612 or 11.5 per cent.
Lord Mayor Cr Tania Brown and other councillors welcomed all of this positive news at Monday’s council meeting.
The city centre will receive another influx of visitors on Saturday, 20 September when the annual Culture Mix festival returns to the CBD from 11am to 7pm. Culture Mix is a free, inclusive event that celebrates our vibrant and diverse community through food, music, dance, art and workshops. Visit Council's website for the full program.
