Thousands of people expected to visit $360m Bankwest Stadium in Parramatta
Sydney’s newest stadium is throwing open its doors this weekend to welcome tens of thousands of fans for a sneak peek ahead of its highly-anticipated first sports match at the venue on Easter Monday.
NSW
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Sydney’s newest stadium is throwing open its doors this weekend to welcome tens of thousands of fans for a sneak peek ahead of its highly-anticipated first sports match at the venue on Easter Monday.
Bankwest Stadium at Parramatta has been under construction since January 2017 and is opening its doors to curious Sydneysiders this Sunday as part of a community open day.
Almost 30,000 people have already redeemed free tickets to see inside the $360 million rectangular stadium, which will be the home ground for the Parramatta Eels, Western Sydney Wanderers and NSW Waratahs.
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While tickets to Sunday’s event cost nothing, those interested still need to book them through Ticketek.
Fans are able to select a one hour tour of the venue at either 9:30am, 12:30pm or 2:00pm. The 11am session is already full.
Club legends, mascots and players from the Eels, Wanderers, Waratahs and Wests Tigers will all be there to meet fans and inspect the new sportsground.
Fans who attend will be taken for a tour of the level 1 concourse, explore the warm-up rooms, check out the ground at pitch level and also experience the steep grandstands which tower above the playing surface.
The first official sporting event at the stadium will be the Easter Monday rugby league clash between the Parramatta Eels and the Wests Tigers, which will kick-off at 4pm on April 22 and is expected to be a sellout with 30,000 screaming fans.
NSW minister for sport John Sidoti is encouraging anyone interested in the stadium and sport to come along this weekend.
“This stadium will be a game-changer for sport in NSW and indeed will be a facility for everyone in our community, with the venue to host a range of sport, entertainment, business and cultural events each year,” he said.
“The community open day is an opportunity for the public to see this magnificent new stadium and the facilities that it will provide for the public, as well as our sporting codes and clubs.”
Bankwest Stadium chief executive Daryl Kerry said the rectangular stadium has been specially designed to bring fans closer to the action.
“More than 30 sport and entertainment events are already confirmed, with more to be announced,” Mr Kerry said.
“We will host hundreds of additional meetings and special events, and anticipate more than 600,000 people will walk through the gates of Bankwest Stadium in its first nine months of operation.”
The stadium holds 30,000 fans for sporting events and 40,000 when configured for concerts.
Originally published as Thousands of people expected to visit $360m Bankwest Stadium in Parramatta
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