ANZ's Stadium Australia sponsorship comes to an end

The ANZ Bank’s naming rights sponsorship of Sydney’s Stadium Australia, the venue for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2000 Olympic Games, has come to an end.

Known as ANZ Stadium since 2008, and Telstra Stadium from 2002 to 2007, the venue has now transitioned back to its original name, Stadium Australia.

ANZ Bank first announced its naming rights deal in December 2017, following the Diversified Infrastructure Trust, an investment trust owned by ANZ subsidiary the Infrastructure Capital Group Ltd (ICG), having acquired the venue in April of that year.

Reported to be worth around $31.5 million over seven years, the deal was renewed in 2014 and again in 2017.

ICG then sold the venue to the NSW Government in its entirety as of 1st July 2016.

The venue is unlikely to remain as Stadium Australia, with Australasian Leisure Management being advised by a spokesperson for the venue that we “will go to market for a new sponsor on the recovery side of the pandemic”.

Built to host the 2000 Sydney Olympics, the first sporting event held at the venue was on 6th March 1999 when a then-record rugby league football crowd of 104,583 watched the NRL first round double-header, featuring Newcastle v Manly and Parramatta v St George Illawarra Dragons.

Image: Stadium Australia hosting Adele in 2017.