Three appointments made to Venues NSW board

The NSW Government has announced the reappointment of veteran sports administrator John Quayle along with new members Ian Roberts and Yvonne Sampson to the board of Venues NSW.

The appointments, endorsed by the NSW Cabinet, will see the new board members replace Gregory Pearce and Maria Scott when their tenure expires on 14th November.

Quayle is a former professional rugby league player from the 1960s and 1970s who assumed roles as the General Manager and then Chief Executive of the NSWRL and Australian Rugby League from 1983 to 1996.

Following his departure from the code, Quayle became the Venues Manager for the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000 and was Venues NSW Chair from 2012 to 2017.

Roberts is an actor, social justice advocate and former NRL star.

As an athlete, he played 213 games in the NRL and represented both NSW and Australia.

He was the first high-profile Australian sports person to be openly gay and has continued to be a leading advocate for the LGBTQIA+ community in many roles including as Director at QTOPIA Museum in Darlinghurst.

A sports broadcaster for more than 20 years, Sampson has served on multiple boards including Harness Racing NSW and The Ricky Stuart Foundation.

Announcing the appointments, NSW Minister for Sport, Steve Kamper stated “Venues NSW is entering an exciting period.

"Having successfully lifted the concert cap and incorporated CommBank and Accor Stadium into operations, we must now focus getting maximum utilisation out of our venues network.

“I look forward to working with the entire board and Venues NSW team on how we can boost our sporting and entertainment offerings.”

Image: Venues NSW manages the state's leading venues including the Sydney Cricket Ground and Allianz Stadium.