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Perth Stadium, currently known as Optus Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a
multi-purpose stadium A multi-purpose stadium is a type of stadium designed to be easily used by multiple types of events. While any stadium could potentially host more than one type of sport or event, this concept usually refers to a specific design philosophy tha ...
in
Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
, Western Australia, located in the suburb of Burswood. It was completed in late 2017 and officially opened on 21 January 2018. The stadium's total capacity is 61,266, including standing room, making it the third-largest stadium in Australia (after the
Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as "The 'G", is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadiu ...
and
Stadium Australia Stadium Australia, currently known as Accor Stadium for sponsorship purposes, is a multi-purpose stadium located in the Sydney Olympic Park, in Sydney, Australia. The stadium, which in Australia is sometimes referred to as Sydney Olympic Stad ...
). The stadium can be extended up to 65,000 seats for rectangular sports. Perth Stadium is primarily used for
Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...
and
cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
. Perth's two
Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...
(AFL) teams – the
Fremantle Football Club The Fremantle Football Club, nicknamed the Dockers, is a professional Australian rules football club competing in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. The team was founded in 1994 to represent the port city of ...
and the
West Coast Eagles The West Coast Eagles are a professional Australian rules football club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club was founded in 1986 as one of two expansion teams in the Australian Football League (AFL), then known as the Victorian Football ...
– relocated their home games from
Subiaco Oval Subiaco Oval (; nicknamed Subi) was a sports stadium in Perth, Western Australia, located in the suburb of Subiaco. It was opened in 1908 and closed in 2017 after the completion of the new Perth Stadium in Burswood. Subiaco Oval was the high ...
to Perth Stadium, while the
Perth Scorchers The Perth Scorchers is an Australian domestic Twenty20 franchise cricket team representing the Western Australian city of Perth in the Big Bash League (BBL). The Scorchers are the current BBL Champions, having defeated the Sydney Sixers in the ...
play their
Big Bash League The Big Bash League (known as the KFC Big Bash League for sponsorship reasons, often abbreviated to BBL or Big Bash) is an Australian professional club Twenty20 cricket league, which was established in 2011 by Cricket Australia. The Big Bash Le ...
home games at the venue, having previously played at the
WACA Ground The WACA (formally the WACA Ground) is a sports stadium in Perth, Western Australia. The stadium's name derives from the initials of its owners and operators, the Western Australian Cricket Association. The WACA has been referred to as Wester ...
. Perth Stadium was built by a consortium led by
Multiplex Multiplex may refer to: * Multiplex (automobile), a former American car make * Multiplex (comics), a DC comic book supervillain * Multiplex (company), a global contracting and development company * Multiplex (assay), a biological assay which measur ...
. The announcement of the Burswood location in June 2011 followed a series of earlier proposals for the stadium, including locations in Subiaco and
East Perth East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sunrise, Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from ...
. Perth Stadium was awarded the 2019 World
Prix Versailles Prix was an American power pop band formed in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1975 by Tommy Hoehn and Jon Tiven. The group ended up primarily as a studio project. Its recordings were produced by Tiven along with former Big Star member Chris Bell, who als ...
award in the Sports category. This is the World Architecture and Design Award.


History


Early proposals

In 2003, the
Government of Western Australia The Government of Western Australia, formally referred to as His Majesty's Government of Western Australia, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of Western Australia. It is also commonly referred to as the WA Government o ...
commissioned a review to examine the future of major sporting venues in Western Australia. To conduct the review, a taskforce was appointed. It was chaired by John Langoulant, Chief Executive of the
Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Western Australia The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Western Australia (CCIWA), founded in 1890,Poprzeczny, Joe. (1998) ''Roles for community. Obituary of former president of Perth Chamber of Commerce, the WA Employers Federation and the Confederation of WA ...
, and released its final report in May 2007. The report recommended the construction of a new 60,000-seat stadium at either
Kitchener Park Mueller Park is a park in Subiaco, Western Australia, situated next to Bob Hawke College between Perth Modern School and Subiaco Oval. It originally comprised the land area which included Subiaco Oval and in the early 1900s housed tennis, croque ...
(which adjoins
Subiaco Oval Subiaco Oval (; nicknamed Subi) was a sports stadium in Perth, Western Australia, located in the suburb of Subiaco. It was opened in 1908 and closed in 2017 after the completion of the new Perth Stadium in Burswood. Subiaco Oval was the high ...
) or in
East Perth East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sunrise, Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from ...
, which would be suitable for
Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...
,
cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
and also rectangular-field sports such as
soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
,
rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
and
rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...
. The taskforce recommended against the further development of Subiaco Oval, which would be demolished. It also recommended against building the new stadium at the site of Burswood, stating that "The development costs at the Burswood site would be significantly higher due to local site conditions and the need for significant upgrades to transport infrastructure." In July 2007, the Government of Western Australia announced its preference to build a new 60,000-seat stadium rather than re-develop Subiaco Oval, and in early 2008 it confirmed that Subiaco Oval would be demolished for the new Perth super-stadium to be built next door at Kitchener Park. This site was chosen ahead of the other suggested site at the old
East Perth Power Station The East Perth Power Station is a disused power station in East Perth, Western Australia. For most of its life it was coal-fired, but ran on oil for six years. The site consists of a complex of industrial buildings occupying more than , bounded ...
, which was set aside to house a new $500 million
museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...
. The new stadium at Subiaco was scheduled to be built between 2011 and 2016, with the majority of the stadium to be completed in 2014. Subiaco Oval was to be demolished between 2014 and 2016 to allow the end of construction on Perth Stadium. The staged construction would have allowed for Australian rules football to be played at the new venue by 2014, when the stadium was two-thirds completed with an initial capacity of 40,000 seats. The final stage would be completed in 2016 and expand the stadium's capacity to 60,000. Stadium plans suggested its playing surface would have been oval in shape to accommodate Australian rules football and cricket games. The stadium was also expected to have retractable seating which would have reconfigured the venue to make it suitable for rectangular-field sports codes, such as soccer, rugby union and rugby league.Big State Needed Big Decision For A Big Stadium
, Local Media Services Company, 10 February 2008
These retractable seats were to number 22,000, and were to be situated along the touch lines and behind the posts in the rectangular configuration. With an overall planned capacity of 60,000, Perth Stadium would have been Western Australia's largest sports venue, and it was designed to be built such that the capacity could be increased to 70,000 if needed in the future. The stadium was expected to be primarily used for Australian rules football with the ability to host cricket, rugby union, rugby league and soccer matches. It was planned that it would be the home ground for the
West Coast Eagles The West Coast Eagles are a professional Australian rules football club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club was founded in 1986 as one of two expansion teams in the Australian Football League (AFL), then known as the Victorian Football ...
and
Fremantle Dockers The Fremantle Football Club, nicknamed the Dockers, is a professional Australian rules football club competing in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. The team was founded in 1994 to represent the port city of Fr ...
, the two Western Australian teams in the
Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...
. It was also planned to host rugby union Test matches, soccer and
rock concert A rock concert is a performance of rock music. During the 1950s, several American musical groups experimented with new musical forms that fused country music, blues, and swing genre to produce the earliest examples of "rock and roll." The coin ...
s. In reality AFL matches have been joined by the AFLW games and WAFL grand finals. The cost for the Kitchener Park stadium was expected to reach $1.1 billion, including $800 million on construction of the stadium itself and $300 million on associated infrastructure, property acquisition, escalation, transport infrastructure and other costs. Construction of the new stadium would have involved moving 27 private residences and moving residents from another 66 state housing properties surrounding Subiaco Oval. These state housing tenants would have been relocated within the Subiaco area. The project was going to be funded by the Government of Western Australia. Following the election of a new State Government under
Colin Barnett Colin James Barnett (born 15 July 1950) is a former Australian politician who was the 29th Premier of Western Australia. He concurrently served as the state's Treasurer at several points during his tenure and had previously held various other po ...
, the new stadium's plans were scrapped in early February 2009. Barnett stated that a new stadium would not be considered for at least two years. As a result of Australia's failed bid for the
2022 World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup is an international football tournament contested by the men's national teams of FIFA's member associations. The 22nd FIFA World Cup is taking place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022; it is the first Wo ...
, $250 million in potential
Federal Government A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...
funding for a new stadium was also withdrawn in December 2010.


Burswood location

In June 2011, the State Government announced that the new stadium would be built in Burswood on the northern section of the Burswood Park golf course. The government stated that the Burswood site was preferred because it was unconstrained by surrounding developments and had the additional benefit of being government-owned. It would also allow for a special events six-platform
Perth Stadium railway station Perth Stadium railway station (officially Perth Stadium Station) is a railway station in Burswood, Western Australia, next to Perth Stadium (known under sponsorship as Optus Stadium). With six platforms, the station is the second largest on the ...
to be built and could be connected to the central business district via a
pedestrian bridge A footbridge (also a pedestrian bridge, pedestrian overpass, or pedestrian overcrossing) is a bridge designed solely for pedestrians.''Oxford English Dictionary'' While the primary meaning for a bridge is a structure which links "two points at a ...
across the Swan River to
East Perth East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sunrise, Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from ...
.Premier announces architect and location for major stadium
Department of Sport and Recreation, Government of Western Australia, 2011, retrieved 2 February 2012.
A car park was not built to service the stadium, with visitors expected to either park in the city and walk across the bridge or use public transport. The Government stated that planning for the new stadium at Burswood was due to be completed by mid-2012, with construction commencing in 2014 and scheduled for completion in 2018. It announced
Multiplex Multiplex may refer to: * Multiplex (automobile), a former American car make * Multiplex (comics), a DC comic book supervillain * Multiplex (company), a global contracting and development company * Multiplex (assay), a biological assay which measur ...
as the contract holders for the construction of the stadium and appointed the firm Populous as the project's architectural consultants.


Construction


Cost

Following the Barnett Government's announcement to move the site of the proposed stadium to Burswood, it stated that the stadium would cost around $700 million, with an extra $300 million allocated to public transport works. However, in December 2011 Premier
Colin Barnett Colin James Barnett (born 15 July 1950) is a former Australian politician who was the 29th Premier of Western Australia. He concurrently served as the state's Treasurer at several points during his tenure and had previously held various other po ...
stated that it was too early to say what the final cost would be, explaining that "No one can put a price on it until it's designed, until it goes out to tender". The previous Government's Major Stadia Taskforce had earlier put the total cost of the Burswood stadium option, including transport needs, at $1.147 billion. This higher cost, comparative to the sites at Subiaco or East Perth, was mainly "due to the need to provide substantial transport infrastructure as well as the additional costs associated with site conditions (i.e. reclaimed flood plain and site previously used as the Perth Municipal Rubbish Dump which included industrial as well as domestic landfill up until 1971)." In June 2011 the '' West Australian'' newspaper reported that due to an increase in construction costs since the release of the task force report in 2007, the total cost will be close to $1.5 billion, assuming work begins within two years. The
Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...
agreed to help pay for Perth's new stadium at Burswood, although it was not revealed how much money it would contribute. However, the nearby
Crown Perth Crown Perth (formerly Burswood Island Casino, Burswood Island Complex and Burswood Entertainment Complex) is a resort and casino located in Burswood, Western Australia, near the Swan River. The resort consists of a casino, a convention centre w ...
, which is expected to benefit commercially from the presence of the stadium, was not asked by the Barnett Government to help meet the construction costs. In October 2017 it was reported that the final cost of the completed stadium was $1.6 billion. This equated to an average cost per Western Australian household of $1500, and per person of $600. In February 2018 a State Government inquiry into Western Australia's finances under the former Barnett government found that the full cost of the stadium including transport infrastructure will be $1.8 billion, around $200 million more than previous estimates.


Impacts

The site is located on the Burswood Peninsula, previously known as the Swan Portland Cement Site. The Swan Portland Cement Company Ltd operated at the site from 1927 and
James Hardie Industries James Hardie Industries plc is a global building materials company and the largest global manufacturer of fibre cement products. Headquartered in Ireland, it is a dual-listed company, being listed on the Australian and New York Stock Exchanges. ...
operated at the adjacent site from the 1920s up until 1981. In its report and recommendations, ''Remediation and Redevelopment of the Swan Portland Cement Site, Burswood'', (January 1998) the Environmental Protection Authority, states "The current site is contaminated with
asbestos Asbestos () is a naturally occurring fibrous silicate mineral. There are six types, all of which are composed of long and thin fibrous crystals, each fibre being composed of many microscopic "fibrils" that can be released into the atmosphere b ...
waste from the James Hardie operations and cement kiln dust, kiln bricks and associated contaminated soil and hydrocarbons from the Swan Portland cement operations." In its report it estimates cement kiln dust on the site, the effects of which should be managed, with regard to its effects upon public health, groundwater and surface water. Three zones of asbestos contamination on the site were identified in the report; zone 1 having of broken and loose asbestos, zone 2 having of asbestos contamination up to below ground level and zone 3 being of asbestos contamination within of cement kiln dust. The EPA report states that while undisturbed in the soil, the contamination poses no threat to public health but disturbing the site will result in airborne asbestos fibres and contamination from the soil. The EPA recommended a management plan for any disturbance of asbestos contamination to be conducted by the
Town of Victoria Park The Town of Victoria Park is a local government area of Western Australia. It covers an area of 17.62 km² in metropolitan Perth, the capital of Western Australia. It had a population of approximately 35,000 as at the 2016 Census. It l ...
. In November 2012, Victoria Park residents contacted the Health Department to notify them asbestos and other material had been unearthed by work on the southern parking lot of the Casino complex. Alarmed residents feared asbestos exposure to locals, park users and Casino patrons. Although the Health Department advised that no risk had been identified, stock piles were sprayed with hydromulch, windbreaks were put on fencing, contaminant levels were being monitored and paths and loose soil were sealed. The Premier's office advised that the Department of Building Management and Works were undertaking the project. The Health Department assured residents there was "no risk to the general public". The construction of the stadium affected
Aboriginal Aborigine, aborigine or aboriginal may refer to: *Aborigines (mythology), in Roman mythology * Indigenous peoples, general term for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area *One of several groups of indigenous peoples, see ...
communities. Although the State Solicitor's Office advises that
native title Aboriginal title is a common law doctrine that the land rights of indigenous peoples to customary tenure persist after the assumption of sovereignty under settler colonialism. The requirements of proof for the recognition of aboriginal title, ...
has been extinguished over the site, it has heritage significance for the local indigenous people, the
Whadjuk Whadjuk, alternatively Witjari, are Noongar (Aboriginal Australian) people of the Western Australian region of the Perth bioregion of the Swan Coastal Plain. Name The ethnonym appears to derive from ''whad'', the Whadjuk word for "no". Countr ...
Noongar, being a burial site. Despite the Department of Indigenous Affairs advising the existence of the registered Aboriginal Heritage site affecting the Burswood Peninsula and East Perth foreshore, the site was deregistered by the Barnett Liberal State Government. Following the Supreme Court decision Robinson v Fielding
015 Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16 *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music *Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * ''15'' (Ani Lorak album ...
WASC 108 to reinstate DAA 22874 (Marapikurrinya Yintha – Port Hedland Harbour) after it had been deregistered by the Barnett government, the Burswood Island Burial site was reassessed in October 2016 but remains "Not a Site" under the Aboriginal Heritage Act (AHA). Previously the site was recognised by the Department of Aboriginal Affairs under the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972 (AHA) as DAA site 15914: Burswood Island Burial. "Several culturally significant sites around WA have had their protection withdrawn in the past year on the basis they no longer fit the definition of a sacred site. Guidelines issued by the Department of Aboriginal Affairs stated that to be a recognised as sacred site, a place needs to have been devoted to religious use rather than simply mythological stories, songs or beliefs."


Opening

The first event to be held at the stadium was a
Twenty20 Twenty20 (T20) is a shortened game format of cricket. At the professional level, it was introduced by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003 for the inter-county competition. In a Twenty20 game, the two teams have a single innin ...
cricket match between the
Perth Scorchers The Perth Scorchers is an Australian domestic Twenty20 franchise cricket team representing the Western Australian city of Perth in the Big Bash League (BBL). The Scorchers are the current BBL Champions, having defeated the Sydney Sixers in the ...
and the England Lions on 11 December 2017, followed by a second match between the same teams two days later. It was officially opened to the public on 21 January 2018 with a free open day for the community.


Naming rights

During construction, then-Premier Colin Barnett had maintained that the government would not be selling the naming rights for the stadium as it would "not be appropriate for such a significant piece of State-owned infrastructure". Instead he suggested a name such as "Swan Stadium" or "River Stadium" – named after the adjacent Swan River – would be more appropriate. Ultimately, the name Perth Stadium was settled on as it was more representative of Western Australia. In the lead up to the state election in March 2017, Labor, then in opposition, announced that it would sell the naming rights for both Perth Stadium and
Perth Arena Perth Arena (known commercially as ) is an entertainment and sporting arena in the city centre of Perth, Western Australia, used mostly for basketball matches. It is located on Wellington Street near the site of the former Perth Entertainmen ...
as part of a plan to return the state budget to surplus if it were to win government. Despite initially suggesting it might retain the Perth Stadium name or at least retain "Perth" in any naming rights arrangement, the new McGowan government announced on 8 November 2017 that the stadium would be officially known as Optus Stadium.
Optus Singtel Optus Pty Limited (commonly referred to as Optus) is an Australian Telecommunications in Australia, telecommunications company headquartered in Macquarie Park, New South Wales, Australia. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore, Si ...
, the second-largest telecommunication company in Australia, and the state government agreed to a 10-year naming rights deal that is thought to be worth approximately $50 million in value. For international cricket matches, the stadium is known as Perth Stadium, due to Cricket Australia’s contractual obligations.


Facilities


Architecture and design

As with the earlier plans for the new stadium at Kitchener Park, the stadium seats over 60,000 spectators, with the ability to seat up to 70,000 in rectangular mode. Initially in the early design stages, it was hoped the venue could have the potential to expand to 80,000 seats in the future by adding a third tier along one wing and another tier on the opposite side of the ground each holding 10,000 seats. Even at 61,266 Perth Stadium still has the third-biggest capacity of any stadium in the country. The field is long and wide, longer than both the
Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as "The 'G", is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadiu ...
and
Docklands Stadium Docklands Stadium, also currently known by naming rights sponsorship as Marvel Stadium, is a multi-purpose sports and entertainment stadium in the Docklands area of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Construction started in October 1997 and was ...
in
Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
, but shorter than Subiaco Oval which is . It is a multi-purpose facility able to hold not only sporting events such as Australian rules football and major rugby league, rugby union, cricket and soccer games, but major cultural events such as concerts. Like WACA, when the Fremantle sea breeze blows across the stadium, it give welcoming relief from the heat. However, due to the stadium seating being a fully enclosed, open roofed dome, the stadium can get hotter than the WACA.


Food and amenities

The stadium is serviced by over 50 food and beverage outlets, with patrons able to follow on-field action on TV screens. Fans will never be more than away from a bar or food outlet, with 75 percent of food supplied from locally owned and operated businesses. The Camfield, a large pub,
microbrewery Craft beer is a beer that has been made by craft breweries. They produce smaller amounts of beer, typically less than large breweries, and are often independently owned. Such breweries are generally perceived and marketed as having an emphasis o ...
and function centre, is located outside the stadium and open seven days a week. There are two screens on either end of the stadium and over 1,000 TV screens located within it. The stadium has 748 male, 781 female and 60
accessible Accessibility is the design of products, devices, services, vehicles, or environments so as to be usable by people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design and practice of accessible development ensures both "direct access" (i.e ...
toilets. Security features include an on-site police station, 650
CCTV Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signal is not openly t ...
cameras around the stadium and surrounding precinct, and freestanding metal detectors at the stadium. During the Test Cricket match in December 2019, a temporary swimming pool was installed, similar to the one at
The Gabba The Brisbane Cricket Ground, commonly known as the Gabba, is a major sports stadium in Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, Australia. The nickname Gabba derives from the suburb of Woolloongabba, in which it is located. Over the years, the Gab ...
. In February 2021 a rooftop tour branded "Halo" was opened at the stadium, allowing participants to walk around the stadium's roof. In August 2021 a new viewing platform began construction on top of the roof on the western side of the stadium. The wheelchair accessible platform, which resembles a pull tab from above, projects beyond both sides of the stadium roof and also features a section where visitors can lean over the playing field below while wearing a safety harness. The platform and the attraction - branded "Vertigo" - both opened in March 2022.


Transport

As the stadium is located on a peninsula with limited road access, the majority of visitors have to travel to and from the stadium primarily by public transport. The Public Transport Authority aims to have 83 percent of visitors use public transport. The six-platform
Perth Stadium railway station Perth Stadium railway station (officially Perth Stadium Station) is a railway station in Burswood, Western Australia, next to Perth Stadium (known under sponsorship as Optus Stadium). With six platforms, the station is the second largest on the ...
and 22-stand Perth Stadium Bus Station located nearby are expected to serve an estimated 28,000 and 8,000 passengers respectively on event days. For events, 8,600 people typically walk and cycle across the Swan River via the
Windan Bridge The Windan Bridge is a six-lane road bridge in East Perth, Western Australia which crosses the Swan River and forms part of the Graham Farmer Freeway. Opened in 2000, it sits next to the Goongoongup railway bridge which was built in 1995. A ...
, and an additional 14,300 walk across the
Matagarup Bridge Matagarup Bridge is a suspension pedestrian bridge crossing over the Swan River in Perth, Western Australia. Situated approximately half-way between Heirisson Island and the Goongoongup Bridge, it provides pedestrian access between Burswood an ...
which connects the stadium precinct with public transport and car parks in East Perth. There are 600 bicycle parking spots located around the stadium precinct. The stadium has 1,400 car parking bays, but they are reserved for staff, premium ticket holders and disability parking. A
taxi rank A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice ...
is next to the stadium. A jetty was built near Matagarup Bridge and officially opened on 11 June 2018. The Burswood Jetty allows all public and commercial vessels to drop off or pick up patrons with a 15-minute time limit. Th
Little Ferry Co.
operate a service which stops daily at the jetty, while Captain Cook Cruises operat
cruise transfers
to and from the jetty on event days.


Stadium uses


Australian rules football

Perth Stadium is used for
Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...
matches in the
Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...
(AFL) from March–September. The stadium was constructed to provide a new home ground for the
West Coast Eagles The West Coast Eagles are a professional Australian rules football club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club was founded in 1986 as one of two expansion teams in the Australian Football League (AFL), then known as the Victorian Football ...
and
Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...
, Perth's two professional AFL clubs. The state government negotiated an agreement with the AFL and the
West Australian Football Commission The West Australian Football Commission is the governing body of Australian rules football in the state of Western Australia. Operations The WAFC was formed in 1989 to manage the sport in Western Australia. The commission is registered as a not-f ...
(WAFC) in October 2017, allowing the Eagles and Dockers to play their home matches at the venue from the start of the 2018 season, in exchange for a $10.3 million a year guarantee for the WAFC until 2028. Fremantle's
women's team A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardle ...
hosted the first Australian rules football match at the venue against on 10 February 2018, and the attendance of 41,975 was the highest stand-alone figure in domestic women's sport. The first AFL premiership match to be played at the new stadium was contested between and on 25 March 2018. Perth Stadium became the twelfth venue to host a VFL/AFL Grand Final when, due to the COVID-19 lockdown in Victoria precluding travel from the state, it hosted the
2021 AFL Grand Final The 2021 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football match contested between and the at Optus Stadium in Perth, Western Australia, on Saturday 25 September 2021. It was the 126th annual grand final of the Australian Football League (AFL) ...
. The match saw defeat the by 74 points to win its first AFL premiership since
1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...
. A total of 61,118 people attended, which is the second highest crowd for the stadium and the biggest for an AFL game at the venue.


Cricket

Cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
matches, such as
One Day International A One Day International (ODI) is a form of limited overs cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of overs, currently 50, with the game lasting up to 9 hours. The Cricket World C ...
s (ODI) and
Twenty20 Twenty20 (T20) is a shortened game format of cricket. At the professional level, it was introduced by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003 for the inter-county competition. In a Twenty20 game, the two teams have a single innin ...
s, are held at the stadium in the months of October–February. Since late 2017, the
Australia national cricket team The Australia men's national cricket team represents Australia in men's international cricket. As the joint oldest team in Test cricket history, playing in the first ever Test match in 1877, the team also plays One-Day International (ODI) an ...
play most of their Perth-based Tests, One Day and Twenty20 matches at the venue. The stadium is also the home ground of
Big Bash League The Big Bash League (known as the KFC Big Bash League for sponsorship reasons, often abbreviated to BBL or Big Bash) is an Australian professional club Twenty20 cricket league, which was established in 2011 by Cricket Australia. The Big Bash Le ...
side
Perth Scorchers The Perth Scorchers is an Australian domestic Twenty20 franchise cricket team representing the Western Australian city of Perth in the Big Bash League (BBL). The Scorchers are the current BBL Champions, having defeated the Sydney Sixers in the ...
, who relocated from the
WACA Ground The WACA (formally the WACA Ground) is a sports stadium in Perth, Western Australia. The stadium's name derives from the initials of its owners and operators, the Western Australian Cricket Association. The WACA has been referred to as Wester ...
in 2018. The first major event at the stadium was an ODI match between
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
and
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
on 28 January 2018, which England won by 12 runs. Perth Stadium became the 19th venue in Australia to host a
One Day International A One Day International (ODI) is a form of limited overs cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of overs, currently 50, with the game lasting up to 9 hours. The Cricket World C ...
cricket game. The
Western Australian Cricket Association The Western Australian Cricket Association (known as the WACA) is the governing body for cricket in Western Australia. The WACA was formed on 5 November 1885. In 1893 the association opened the WACA Ground. Elite cricket The WACA is responsible ...
later confirmed that the stadium would host its first ever Test match, which began between Australia and India on 14 December 2018. Perth Stadium became the fourth venue in Australia to host a men's
Day/night cricket Day/night cricket, also known as floodlit cricket, is a cricket match that is played either totally or partially under floodlights in the evening. The first regular cricket to be played under floodlights occurred during World Series Cricket, uns ...
Test match, when
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
took on
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
between 12 and 16 December 2019. With Australia hosting the 2022 edition of the Men's T20 World Cup, Perth Stadium will be hosting five out of the 45 matches being played around the country, all taking place in October.


Rugby league

The
National Rugby League The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...
played a double-header in round 1 of the
2018 NRL season The 2018 NRL season was the 111th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 21st season run by the National Rugby League. The main competition, known as the 2018 Telstra Premiership due to sponsorship from Telstra, featured 16 team ...
in front of 38,842 fans. The second match of the
2019 State of Origin series The 2019 State of Origin series was the 38th annual best-of-three series between the Queensland and New South Wales rugby league teams. Before this series, Queensland had won 21 times, NSW 14 times, with two series drawn. For just the second t ...
between
New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...
and
Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...
was played here on 23 June 2019 and marked the first Origin game to be played in Western Australia.
New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...
defeated
Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...
38–6 in front of a crowd of 59,721 spectators. On 21 April 2021, it was announced that the second match of the 2022 State of Origin series will be held at Optus Stadium after managing to secure the event from the Australian Rugby League Commission for an undisclosed sum.


Rugby union

The Australian game in the 2019
Bledisloe Cup The Bledisloe Cup is an annual rugby union competition originally staged between the national teams of Australia's Wallabies and New Zealand's All Blacks that has been contested since the 1930s. The frequency that the competition is held has va ...
series, which doubled as a Rugby Championship match, was played at the stadium between Australia and New Zealand on 10 August 2019. The match was the first Bledisloe Cup Test to be held in Western Australia (Subiaco Oval had previously hosted
Mandela Challenge Plate The Nelson Mandela Challenge Plate is a rugby union trophy contested between Australia and South Africa. It is named after South Africa's first democratically elected president, Nelson Mandela. History Initially designed to be held every two ye ...
Tests in the Tri-Nations against South Africa) and set the stadium's current highest single-day attendance rate until February 2020. On 30 January 2020, the Western Australian state government announced that the
Springboks The South Africa national rugby union team, commonly known as the Springboks (colloquially the Boks, Bokke or Amabokoboko), is the country's national team governed by the South African Rugby Union. The Springboks play in green and gold jersey ...
will play the
Wallabies A wallaby () is a small or middle-sized macropod native to Australia and New Guinea, with introduced populations in New Zealand, Hawaii, the United Kingdom and other countries. They belong to the same taxonomic family as kangaroos and so ...
at the stadium as part of the
2020 Rugby Championship The 2020 Tri Nations Series was the seventeenth edition of the annual southern hemisphere competition, involving Argentina, Australia and New Zealand. On 16 October 2020, 2019 Rugby Championship winners and 2019 Rugby World Cup champions South A ...
on 29 August 2020. This was however cancelled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. Additionally, following the success of the match in 2019, it was announced that the Australian game of the Bledisloe Cup will return to the stadium in 2021. In July 2022, the
Wallabies A wallaby () is a small or middle-sized macropod native to Australia and New Guinea, with introduced populations in New Zealand, Hawaii, the United Kingdom and other countries. They belong to the same taxonomic family as kangaroos and so ...
hosted historic rival,
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, in a three-test series; the first match was played at Optus Stadium.


Soccer

The stadium hosted a friendly match between
Perth Glory Perth Glory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Perth, Western Australia. It competes in the country's premier men's competition, A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues. Founded in 19 ...
and
Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
on 23 July 2018. The
2019 A-League Grand Final The 2019 A-League Grand Final was the fourteenth A-League Grand Final, the championship-deciding match of the A-League in Australia and the culmination of the 2018–19 season. It was played on the 19 May 2019 at Optus Stadium in Perth between ...
was played at the stadium on 19 May 2019, which was the first time
Perth Glory Perth Glory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Perth, Western Australia. It competes in the country's premier men's competition, A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues. Founded in 19 ...
has hosted the grand final in the League's history. The Grand Final broke the attendance record for an A-League finals series match.
Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
played two pre-season games at the stadium, one against Perth Glory on 13 July 2019 and the other against historic rival
Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road S ...
on 17 July 2019. In July 2022,
English Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
clubs
Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
,
Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...
,
Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road S ...
, and
Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building * ...
will travel to Perth to compete in ICON - Perth's Festival of International Football. Crystal Palace plays Leeds United on 22 July, and Manchester United will play Aston Villa on 23 July.


Entertainment

Perth Stadium is also capable of hosting major
concerts A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or musical band, band. Concerts are held in a w ...
and other entertainment events. Both
Ed Sheeran Edward Christopher Sheeran (; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently r ...
and
Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...
performed at the venue in 2018.
Nitro Circus ''Nitro Circus'' is an "action sport collective" led by Travis Pastrana, featuring his friends and him traveling around the world riding dirtbikes, BASE jumping, and performing stunts. Co-founded in 2003 by Pastrana, Nitro Circus has become a m ...
performed at the stadium on 22 April 2018.
Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing hip hop in middle America and is critically acclai ...
performed at the Stadium on 27 February 2019. U2 performed at the Stadium on 27 November 2019 as part of their 2019 Joshua Tree tour.
Queen + Adam Lambert Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
performed at the Stadium on 23 February 2020 as part of their Rhapsody Tour. On 18 November 2022,
Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1985. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band comprised vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKa ...
will perform at the stadium as part of their 2022 tour. Ed Sheeran will perform at the stadium on 12 March 2023 as part of his +–=÷x Tour. On 12 February 2023,
Red Hot Chili Peppers Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983, comprising vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea (musician), Flea, drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist John Frusciante. Their music incorporates element ...
and
Post Malone Austin Richard Post (born July 4, 1995), known professionally as Post Malone, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Known for his variegated vocals, Malone has gained acclaim for blending genres and subgenres of hip ...
will perform at the stadium as part of their Global Stadium Tour.


Attendances


Sports


Other events


See also

* List of Australian Football League grounds *
List of A-League stadiums Since the inception of the A-League Men, Australian association football's highest level annual men's League system, league tournament, 30 football stadiums have been used to host matches, with one more stadium set to host their first A-League ma ...


Notes


References


External links


Official website
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Perth Stadium Australian Football League grounds Test cricket grounds in Australia Burswood, Western Australia Fremantle Football Club Cricket grounds in Western Australia Rugby league stadiums in Australia Rugby union stadiums in Australia Sports venues completed in 2017 Soccer venues in Perth, Western Australia West Coast Eagles 2017 establishments in Australia Multi-purpose stadiums in Australia AFL Women's grounds