ANZ Stadium's Ken Edwards leaves after 13 years

ANZ Stadium has today announced that its Managing Director and Chief Executive, Ken Edwards, will leave the Stadium after 13 years. He will leave as of 1st July.

“For several decades Ken has been one of Australia’s leading sporting and entertainment executives,” Stadium Chairman Mark Norville said, adding "he leaves at the top of his game after winning the biggest events and leveraging key revenue streams for the Stadium."

Edwards joined the Stadium in 1996, before Stadium construction commenced. Under his stewardship, the Stadium set many world records for crowd attendance, set new standards for customer service and has hosted a plethora of major events that have changed the sporting landscape in Sydney forever:

• The “best ever” Olympic Games
• Rugby Union Bledisloe Cup and other international test matches of the Wallabies
• The 2003 Rugby World Cup, including the Final
• The last ten NRL Grand Finals
• State Of Origin blockbusters
• The biggest AFL crowds (Sydney Swans) outside of Melbourne
• Amazing FIFA World Cup qualifying matches for the Socceroos
• Blockbuster concerts including the Rolling Stones, U2, The Police, the Bee Gees and Andre Rieu

ANZ Stadium, under Ken Edwards, has truly become ‘Australia’s Home Ground’.

The Stadium is also home ground for the Bulldogs and the South Sydney Rabbitohs, with the Parramatta Eels playing their two biggest games there each year. The Sydney Swans call ANZ Stadium home for their four best games each year.

Recent research conducted by University of Technology Sydney (UTS) Centre for Olympic Studies identified ANZ Stadium as the most successful post-Olympic stadium ever. Edwards attributes this success largely to diversification, citing the variety of events held at the Stadium and continually adapting to the needs of an ever-changing market.

Edwards also noted that despite the economic conditions the Stadium’s financial performance continued to be strong and cited the recent confirmation of the AC/DC concerts to be staged at the Stadium next year as further proof of the Stadium’s dominance in the Sydney major event market.

“Unlike other stadia in Sydney and elsewhere in Australia, ANZ Stadium has been built, is owned and operated by the private sector and does not receive any government funding. The team and I are very proud of that achievement," Edwards said.

Other achievements under Edwards’ leadership include:

• The successful $80 million reconfiguration of the Stadium to a fully flexible stadium capable of hosting events in both rectangular and oval configurations
• The profitable acquisition and internalisation of the Stadium’s catering business
• Brokering of innovative corporate partner, sponsorship and signage agreements
• Recent installation of digital video boards which are twice the size of those at the Beijing Olympic Stadium 
• Introduction of transferability and reciprocal rights for the Stadium’s 17,800 memberships

Remarking upon why he has chosen to leave the Stadium, Edwards, 52, said: “the Stadium’s 10th anniversary celebrations this year gave me pause to think about all that we have accomplished so far and what the next ten years hold, both for the Stadium and for me personally."

"I thought it was time to pass the baton to the next generation to lead the Stadium through its second decade and for me to move onto my next challenge.”

Deputy Chief Executive Daryl Kerry has been announced as Edwards’ replacement.

Commenting on his appoitnment, Kerry stated “Ken Edwards has put his heart and soul into the Stadium, from the moment the first sod was turned until achieving today’s status as Sydney and Australia’s premier international venue.

“To have been at Ken’s side since 1998 has been a wonderful privilege in my professional life and it’s a great honour to be asked to take the position of CEO upon his departure. I thank the Board for their confidence.”