THE NSW Government has committed to the redevelopment of Stadium Australia – home of the 2000 Sydney Olympics – as part of the biggest investment in sport and major event infrastructure in NSW since the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
More than $1 billion will be invested in the Sydney stadia network over the next decade. $600 million has been set aside in Rebuilding NSW and the NSW Government will provide a further allocation of funding to complete the projects.
Premier Mike Baird has made a wide-ranging commitment that will ensure NSW remains the No.1 state for events while also providing a massive boost for sporting codes and fans.
The revolutionary plan – which will ensure Stadium Australia remains Sydney’s home of major events – includes:
- Redevelopment of the 80,000-seat Stadium Australia, bringing fans closer to the action. The Government will consider the option of a retractable roof to weather-proof events;
- A new rectangular stadium at Parramatta with 30,000 seats;
- A new rectangular stadium at Moore Park with 50,000 to 55,000 seats;
- A new indoor arena near the CBD;
- A new outer western Sydney sporting venue; and
- The completion of the SCG upgrade.
A proposed new design for Stadium Australia
Stadium Australia Managing Director, Mr Daryl Kerry, congratulated the NSW Government for its vision and commitment to invest in the State’s sporting and entertainment infrastructure.
“This is a Government committed to Rebuilding NSW and the investment of more than $1 billion in Sydney’s major sporting stadiums will pave the way for NSW to remain Australia’s No.1 state for sport and events,” Mr Kerry said.
“The planned redevelopment of Stadium Australia, Sydney’s largest venue, will increase the already substantial economic benefits delivered to NSW through the staging of major events.
“Our stadiums contribute significantly to the NSW economy through tourism, business investment and employment. But our stadiums are also part of the fabric of the Australian way of life, building communities and bringing fun and excitement into our lives.”
The NSW Government’s funding commitment will enable Stadium Australia at Sydney Olympic Park to evolve into a world-class rectangular arena, with fans dramatically closer to the action for football, rugby league and rugby union – supercharging the game-day atmosphere.
The Government will also explore the option of a retractable roof for Stadium Australia, which would weather-proof events worth millions of dollars for NSW each year.
“We are looking forward to working with the NSW Government to finalise the scope and design for the redevelopment of Stadium Australia to ensure it is again a truly world-class stadium – and one that provides a rectangular arena for football, rugby league and rugby union,” Mr Kerry said.
He said the potential exists for Stadium Australia – home of the 2000 Sydney Olympics – to evolve into a rectangular arena the equal of any stadium in the world.
Mr Kerry confirmed discussions were at an advanced stage regarding an early reversion of Stadium Australia’s leasehold management rights to the NSW Government, which will allow Government to redevelop Stadium Australia as soon as practical and reap the full benefit from that investment for the people of NSW.
Mr Kerry said the Government plan will create a network of modern venues of varying sizes that will provide quality options for the sports and enable Sydney to host a wider range of events.
“Today’s announcement is a great result for the sporting codes, which will benefit from a massive investment in world-class sporting infrastructure right across Sydney,” he said.
More than 23 million fans have passed through the Stadium Australia gates since the venue was purpose-built for the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, and the Government’s commitment to the Stadium’s redevelopment will ensure it continues to host many of the nation’s biggest events and most iconic sporting moments well into the future.
Last November, global construction and engineering company Laing O’Rourke, and world-renowned architects BVN Donovan Hill, unveiled design concepts for the redevelopment of Stadium Australia, which included technology that would enable Sydney’s Olympic stadium to configure to a perfect rectangular arena, bringing fans as close as 5m to the action.
Under the Laing O’Rourke plan, there are two options:
a) Installing moveable grandstands at the northern and southern ends of Stadium Australia that would bring fans to within 5m of the action and increase the rake (or steepness) of the seating. This is a cost-effective redevelopment strategy that would allow the Stadium to remain a multi-purpose venue and make the transition to a Stadium suitable for future international events such as Olympic or Commonwealth Games or the World Athletics Championships;
b) A spectacular total redevelopment of Stadium Australia into a permanent rectangular stadium, which in addition to bringing the front rows to within 5m of the action, would bring ALL seating across six levels significantly closer (including corporate seating, VIP lounges on Level 5 and the high-capacity seats on Level 6).
The NSW Government’s commitment to the redevelopment of Stadium Australia will be supported by other major infrastructure projects in the Greater Sydney area that will transform the spectator experience at Sydney’s Olympic stadium.
In other exciting developments:
- Work has already begun on the $3.8 billion WestConnex motorway project which will substantially cut the travelling time between the CBD and Sydney Olympic Park.
- The Government is considering a proposal for a Light Rail route that aims to bring trams to the front gates of Stadium Australia and connect Greater Western Sydney. The WestLine Partnership is prepared to largely fund a light rail route through the Olympic Corridor, which begins at Westmead and connects the burgeoning Parramatta area with Rosehill, Camellia, Sydney Olympic Park, Rhodes and Strathfield.
- The Sydney Olympic Park Authority is currently reviewing its masterplan with a view to significantly increase commercial, retail and residential development in Sydney Olympic Park. This will include shops, cafes, bars, eateries and restaurants, which will reinvigorate the Sydney Olympic Park town centre and help create a lively Stadium precinct;
- The NSW Government has already approved new Urban Activation Precincts at Carter St (just behind the western gates of Stadium Australia) and at Wentworth Point (near the Sydney Olympic Park ferry wharf), which will bring thousands of new residents and new commercial and retail developments.
Stadium Australia already features a heavy rail service that can move as many as 27,600 fans per hour. Transport research shows that almost 76 per cent of all fans who attend major events at Stadium Australia use public transport, with 62 per cent using the train service to Olympic Park.
The NSW Government’s commitment to funding the redevelopment of Sydney’s Olympic stadium – along with other exciting major projects at Parramatta and Moore Park – will change the game for the better, and forever, in NSW.
