Arthur Stanley
THE NSW Government and Stadium Australia – the State’s largest sporting venue – have unveiled a new partnership to promote the Plan B drink-driving campaign leading into the NRL Grand Final and the coming cricket season.
NSW Minister for Sport and Recreation, Gabrielle Upton, the Parliamentary Secretary for Transport and Roads, Stuart Ayres, and Stadium Australia Managing Director, Daryl Kerry, were on hand at the Stadium to launch the initiative.
Stadium Australia has hosted 20 million sports fans since it was purpose-built for the 2000 Sydney Olympics, with more than 1.3 million fans having already passed through the turnstiles this year to watch sporting blockbusters in cricket, football, rugby league, rugby union and AFL.
The initiative is already underway with Plan B signage decorating the stadium throughout NRL Grand Final week and fans will now drink from Plan B beer cups.
“The signage will be in place for the NRL finals, and remain on display for the Monster Jam (monster trucks on 19 October) event, Bon Jovi concert (14 December), Twenty20 Big Bash cricket tournament and February’s Twenty20 international cricket match,” Ms Upton said
“If you have a drink while you are out, you need a safe Plan B.
“Catch public transport, call a taxi or ring a friend to come and get you. There’s no excuse for getting behind the wheel,” Ms Upton said.
Stuart Ayres, Parliamentary Secretary for Roads, said: “Young men – like many who attend Stadium Australia for the biggest sporting matches – are tragically over-represented in drink-driving deaths, so we hope they listen to the message, because it could save their life or someone else’s.
“In NSW, drink-driving kills more than 50 people and injures more than 1,000 every year. 80 per cent of the drink-drivers involved in fatal crashes are men. Three-quarters of them are aged under 40,” Mr Ayres said.
Stadium Australia Managing Director, Daryl Kerry, said: “The Plan B drink driving campaign says you can still have a few drinks on a night out but that you need to plan your way home – your Plan B – beforehand.”
“By all means come to the footy and enjoy a few drinks, but if you decide to drive you need a safe Plan B to get home. Catch public transport, call a taxi or ring a friend to come and get you.
“Stadium Australia is well-serviced by Sydney trains to and from Olympic Park Station, and by buses to all corners of Sydney.
“We always encourage fans to travel smart to the stadium by using public transport. This is invariably made easy for major events when integrated transport initiatives regularly ensure every fan’s ticket doubles as a train, ferry and bus ticket.
“If you catch public transport to the game, there’s no temptation to drive home afterwards – you immediately have your Plan B.”
