Perth's Optus Stadium to serve as Police crisis management centre

Perth's Optus Stadium is set for a change of use with Western Australian Police to use the venue as a crisis management centre during the current Coronavirus crisis.

With no sport currently being staged at the venue, Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan announced today that the 60,000-seat stadium, will be used as a hub for WA Police’s Coronavirus response effort.

Premier McGowan told Perth newspaper WAtoday “Police here will track workforce impacts and plan for the need for essential services across Western Australia.

“This will turn the directions that come out of state emergency committee meetings … into operational guidance for officers to ensure the resilience and continuity of law and order in Western Australia.”

WA Police commissioner Chris Dawson added, "this is one of four centres in which we are both coordinating (and) commanding a state of emergency. This is about our community.

"This is about us being able to make decisions … and there are many issues that will impact on people’s lives, people’s businesses and indeed the way we operate as a community.”

Western Australia current state of emergency has required, as of yesterday, all pubs, clubs, gyms, cinemas, places of worship, libraries and cultural institutions to close.

Image courtesy of Optus Stadium.