Bankwest Stadium passes successful first operational anniversary

Sydney’s Bankwest Stadium has passed 12 months since it opened its gates for the first time and changed the game for the venue experience in Australia.

During a year of “cheers, jeers and unforgettable moments”, since opening on 14th April 2019the venue has welcomed almost 700,000 fans through the turnstiles at 42 sport and entertainment events, won several awards and been embraced by the greater Sydney community.

From the Parramatta Eels’ Easter Monday blitz and the Western Sydney Wanderers’ Sydney Derby to Cold Chisel’s unforgettable first concert at the Stadium and Elton John’s emotional Tour closer … Bankwest Stadium has played host to some iconic sport and entertainment moments in the past year.

Chairman and founder of the Western Sydney Business Dialogue, Christopher Brown, recently advised “Bankwest Stadium has set a new benchmark when it comes to how we engage and experience sport and entertainment in Western Sydney.

“The stadium has been a massive hit with spectators, users and the community, and the positive economic and social flow-on effects it has delivered has helped validate the NSW Government’s stadium investment strategy and has been a boon to sporting codes and clubs, and especially for the Eels and the Wanderers.”

Not only is the venue the new home of sport and entertainment in Sydney’s west, but it has become a place of gathering for the wider community.

More than 30,000 additional people have attended the Stadium for functions, business meetings, community and cultural events since its opening. A childrens’ playground and a basketball court were built on the eastern broadwalk and have proved extremely popular with the local community.

Independent economic analysis conducted for the City Council has shown that Bankwest Stadium is bringing a financial benefit of nearly $1 million to Parramatta each time an event is held at the Stadium.

The Stadium has hosted international football, international rugby union, international rugby league, global music acts and a host of domestic sport as well as thousands of business meetings, private functions and community and cultural events.

The venue has also secured five awards including being joint winner of the Property & Infrastructure 2019 Project of the Year Award and outright winner of the Outstanding Sports & Major Events Project for 2019 Award.

In March, the Stadium was named Silver Medallist at the 2019 Stadium Database Stadium of the Year Awards - a prize awarded by a panel of international experts.

Bankwest Stadium is owned by Venues NSW on behalf of the NSW Government and operated by VenuesLive, the Australian-based provider of management and hospitality services to venues and events.

Designed and constructed by Lendlease in conjunction with architect Populous and engineering company Aurecon and delivered by Infrastructure NSW, the Stadium is now firmly part of the fabric of Western Sydney

Bankwest Stadium features the steepest grandstands in Australia at 33.93 degrees which place fans right on top of the action and creates a wall of sound surrounding the pitch.

Note: With the major sporting codes having suspended their respective seasons in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Bankwest Stadium is not hosting sport and entertainment events until further notice. In the interests of public health, Bankwest Stadium is also closed for meetings, special events and public tours until further notice.

Julian Keith, Media & Communications Manager at Bankwest Stadium.

Image courtesy of Bankwest Stadium.