Australian Open site to stretch to CBD and Richmond
If you thought the Australian Open was big — think again. Next year’s Grand Slam will be bigger than ever thanks to a revamped kids zone and the addition of a after dark experience for parents. Here’s what you can expect to see.
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The Australian Open will expand to a monster site stretching from Richmond to Melbourne’s CBD as the Melbourne Grand Slam grows to unprecedented proportions.
The two week event will next year extend its footprint to take in Federation Square and land between Melbourne Park and Richmond Station, growing to a whopping 287,869 sqm in total.
It comes as new economic impact data shows last year’s Open poured a record $347 million into the state economy — $34 million more than ever before — and created 1590 jobs.
Fed Square will for the first time become a major tournament focus with a free live site, tennis on the big screen and Melbourne food and entertainment showcase.
The Ballpark kids zone will double in size, moving to Birrarung Marr and filling the upper and lower terraces with junior courts, zip lines, kart racing, super soakers and entertainment.
And a new “Practice Village’’ at the Richmond end of the precinct will bring fans close to the world’s best players.
Australian Open Tournament director Craig Tiley said the expansion completed a decade long-goal of connecting the site with the city and Richmond.
“The Australian Open really takes over the city and Melbourne embraces the event with more enthusiasm and excitement than any of the other Grand Slams,” Mr Tiley said.
“The players love the AO’s proximity to the city and we always strive to maximise that and ensure the site is as accessible as possible to both the city and Richmond.’’
The expansion will see child minding set up at Federation Square’s Deakin Edge, including a ‘Date Night’ service from 6pm to 9pm for busy parents to experience the Open after dark.
The changes, including moving the city entrance closer to the CBD and increasing the current site size of about 264,000 sqm, will be announced as the Open is officially launched on Tuesday.
It will make Melbourne by far the biggest Grand Slam in the world.
Mr Tiley said the size of the precinct would bolster the Open’s reputation as one of the most fan friendly events on the planet.
“This is the best sport and entertainment precinct in the world — bar none — and we want to represent it appropriately,’’ he said.
“We first moved into Birrarung Marr in 2016, before the opening of Tanderrum Bridge effectively turned the Melbourne Park precinct towards the city in 2017.
“Now, with the addition of Fed Square, we are bringing this vision to life.’’
The Herald Sun can reveal a Nielsen Sports study of the economic impact of last year’s Open found it generated $347.2 million in Real Gross State Product, up 18 per cent from 2018.
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Mr Tiley said the expansion was likely to boost the state’s finances even more and increase record crowds that last year saw 41 per cent of attendees from out of Melbourne and interstate and 14 per cent from overseas.
“Over the past decade the Australian Open has contributed more than $2.485 billion in economic benefits to Victoria,” he said.
“As we constantly strive to grow our event and attract more fans to Melbourne each January we expect this trend to continue.”
The Open will take over town from January 20 to February 2.