East v west: Sydney’s big stadium beer divide

A chorus of politicians, industry leaders and local mayors want and end to “beer discrimination” between Sydney’s east and west, where punters attending Western Sydney stadiums have been forced to put up with mid-strength beer for years.

A campaign is underway calling for the end of the rampant beer discrimination between Sydney’s east and west, where punters attending Western Sydney stadiums have been forced to put up with mid-strength beer for years.

While sports and music fans with general admission tickets at both Parramatta’s CommBank Stadium and Sydney Olympic Park’s Accor Stadium have only been allowed to drink half-strength beers, patrons of Allianz stadium in the city’s east have been drinking full strength beer since it opened in August 2022.

While the liquor licences for both Accor and CommBank currently allow for the sale of full-strength beer, the service is only available for corporate boxes or in members only areas.

The restrictions came from the original contracts hospitality operator VenuesLive had with both stadiums. The NSW government decided not to renew the company’s contract last year.

Full-strength beer is sold for general admissions at both the Sydney Cricket Ground and Allianz stadium in Moore Park, where Justin Hemmes’ Merivale group hold the hospitality contract.

Fans at CommBank stadium in Sydney's west, left, can only have mid-strength beer in the general public section, while those at Allianz in the east, right, can choose full-strength. Pictures: News Corp/Supplied

Now Labor Riverstone MP Warren Kirby has launched a campaign to end the east/west discrimination and allow everyone to drink a full strength beer at the football.

Mr Kirby said that since government body Venues NSW took over the running of both CommBank and Accor, it was high time the rules were changed.

“Punters and fans in the west shouldn’t have to tolerate a lower service than in the

East,” he said.

“It is time we stopped treating Western Sydney patrons differently.”

Politicians across the divide, local mayors and business leaders all agree it is time to bring back full strength beers to the West.

Fairfield mayor Frank Carbone said he believed the tradition of only allowing half-strength beer at Western Sydney stadiums was because those in charge did not believe patrons could drink responsibly.

“That on its own is discriminatory, it is telling people based on postcode what they can drink,” he said.

“We’re already treated differently in the West, we don’t have a Metro past Parramatta, we pay way more tolls and now we can ‘t even have a choice of what type of beers we drink at the footy.”

“It seems the only thing they give us these days are mosquitoes courtesy of Sydney Water.”

“People in the West are just as responsible as people in the East and should be able to watch football while enjoying a full strength beer.”

The call to end half-strength beer rules also has bipartisan support, with NSW Opposition leader Mark Speakman joining the call.

“Sydney’s sports fans don’t want their night out watered down by nanny-state rules – they want to enjoy the full experience,” he said.

“It’s time to stop treating people like children.”

Business Western Sydney executive director David Borger said it was time for the “beer discrimination” to end.

“It’s time we end the East/West divide – Western Sydneysiders deserve a full strength beer too whether you’re in the corporate box or the bleachers,” he said.

“It’s outrageous that beer discrimination still exists.”

Originally published as East v west: Sydney’s big stadium beer divide