Leading events manager joins Perth Stadium team

After 11 seasons delivering major cricket events across the country, highly-respected Australian events manager and sports administrator Chris Loftus-Hills has joined the team that will manage the new Perth Stadium and Sports Precinct.

Loftus-Hills has been appointed General Manager Events & Operations at Perth Stadium and will take up his position in the VenuesLive management team on Monday 16th January.

He is the latest senior management appointment at the new Perth Stadium – joining Chief Executive Mike McKenna and Chief Operating Officer Brad Paatsch.

Born in Kalgoorlie, Loftus-Hills is well known for his role as Head of Events & Match Operations at Cricket Australia where he has worked since 2005.

During that time, he has led significant growth in the events program and driven the capability of a national events team that delivers both international and domestic cricket matches as well as a range of special events. Key to this success has been the development of one of the leading match-day experiences in Australian sport.

Loftus-Hills has also contributed significantly to the design of Australia’s major stadia redevelopments through expert focus on creating best-of-breed cricket facilities and a world-class fan experience.

Prior to joining Cricket Australia, Loftus-Hills was Events Manager for the City of Stonnington in Melbourne and also worked in production for the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.

Looking forward to his new role, he stated “I am excited to be joining Mike McKenna and the team that will bring to life the new Perth Stadium and deliver world-class sport and entertainment events.

“My time at Cricket Australia has been a wonderful journey filled with incredible experiences. I would like to thank both Mike McKenna and James Sutherland who have given me such unique opportunities and supported me faultlessly during this time.

“It has been a pleasure to build programs and develop an outstanding team that delivers events for a sport that I am deeply passionate about and that is so important to so many Australians. I am very fortunate to be able to take with me a decade of special memories.

“I am very much looking forward to working with all the major sporting codes and other hirers to deliver a premium fan experience in a world-class facility that the people of Perth are going to be immensely proud of.”

Welcoming Loftus-Hills on the Perth Stadium team, McKenna commented “I had the pleasure of working alongside Chris for 11 years at Cricket Australia and I know he will be a great asset for our VenuesLive team that will operate the new Perth Stadium.

“Over the past four years, Chris has worked with the WA Government on the arrangements for cricket to play at Perth Stadium and has been intimately involved in the design of the venue to accommodate cricket matches. Chris led Cricket Australia’s involvement in the process to produce the cricket wickets that will be dropped in when the venue hosts cricket matches.

“This is a key appointment to my Perth Stadium management team and I look forward to welcoming Chris to the Stadium team.”

VenuesLive Chief Executive Daryl Kerry added “Chris Loftus-Hills has an outstanding record of people management, event creation, event operation and delivery.

“He has taken fan engagement to new levels in Australian sport and will drive Perth Stadium’s unique fans-first approach when it opens for business.

“The new Perth Stadium team is well and truly taking shape. In Mike McKenna, Brad Paatsch and Chris Loftus-Hills, the people of Western Australia have three of Australia’s finest sports administrators leading the way.”

Perth Stadium is more than 63% complete, with construction on schedule to open in early 2018. The Stadium will be a multi-purpose venue capable of hosting AFL, cricket, football, rugby league and rugby union, plus entertainment events.

The Stadium will be integrated within a broader sports precinct, with cafes, alfresco dining, playgrounds, and community spaces that can be utilised on both event and non-event days.

Images: Chris Loftus-Hills (top) and how the Perth Stadium will look when complete (below).

23rd November 2016 - BRAD PAATSCH NAMED PERTH STADIUM CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER

21st September 2016 - MIKE MCKENNA APPOINTED CHIEF EXECUTIVE FOR THE NEW PERTH STADIUM

28th June 2016 - VENUESLIVE MANAGEMENT SERVICES TO COMMENCE AS OPERATOR OF PERTH STADIUM

27th May 2016 - PERTH STADIUM OPERATIONS TO COST MORE THAN $50 MILLION IN FIRST YEAR