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Grand opening of the stadium that almost lost government an election
By Lucy Cormack
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet declared an end to half-time beer and bathroom queues as he opened the controversial $828 million Allianz Stadium that almost cost his government an election.
The entertainment and sports facility opened its doors to a crowd of about 30,000 for the first time on Sunday night, for an opening ceremony that included the national anthem, live performances by Guy Sebastian and Baker Boy, a lap of honour from sports stars including Sonny Bill Williams, and a firework and light show.
Premier Dominic Perrottet kicks a ball during the community open day at Allianz Stadium on Sunday.Credit: James Alcock
Speaking underneath a sparkling Sydney sky as he opened the venue earlier, Perrottet conceded the struggles that had weighed on the project were not lost on him.
“This has been a long journey. But today we open a world-class stadium for our world-class people,” he said.
“We lost a lot of political skin. We almost lost an election on the construction of this stadium ... so there are always challenges with building great venues and great infrastructure. But you’ve just got to push through and do what’s right.”
Women now have almost six times as many toilets to choose from – 600, up from 113 – while the number of wheelchair and companion-accessible seats has increased from 28 to more than 500 at the new stadium.
While the project in 2019 was slated to cost $790 million, Perrottet said it was well worth the additional spend to attract events and performances NSW was losing to other states, arguing the stadium was now “the envy of the world”.
Less than four weeks after publicly sparring with the premier over funding for local stadiums and the NRL grand final, rugby league tsar Peter V’landys said he was reserving judgment on the new Allianz stadium for now.
“The stadium is in its honeymoon period,” he told the Herald. “Its real test is when it’s analysed in 12 months.”
V’landys said he would not be at the opening ceremony on Sunday night, but instead would attend “the real opening when the greatest game for all is played next Friday night.”
Safety and accessibility concerns at the old Allianz Stadium triggered the controversial decision by former premier Gladys Berejiklian in 2017 to fund a replacement stadium at Moore Park, as part of $2 billion-plus stadium package.
Scenes at the Allianz Stadium open day on Sunday.Credit: James Alcock
The decision was derided by the state opposition and deeply unpopular in the community. Polling at the time showed almost 60 per cent of voters opposed or strongly opposed the knockdown and rebuild, while then-Labor leader Michael Daley insisted he would not rebuild the venue and declared the 2019 state election a referendum on stadiums.
Sports Minister Alister Henskens said the new stadium was “all about the people”, offering a better experience from food and hospitality, to general amenities.
The recently anointed minister took the place of Stuart Ayres, who had been central to the stadium development but was forced to resign earlier this month of his role in the John Barilaro trade job saga.
Four thousand pieces of steel stretching more than 19 kilometres in length now form the roof of the rebuilt stadium, which has a 360-degree open concourse and food and beverage offerings from hospitality giant Merivale.
The stadium last hosted a game in September 2018, when the Roosters defeated the Rabbitohs in an NRL preliminary final.
The two teams will return to the field for the first game in the new stadium this week, before the Wallabies take on the Springboks on Saturday.
Arts and Tourism Minister Ben Franklin also billed the Matildas taking on Olympic champions Canada among the first sporting events to be held at the stadium, but insisted the venue would host more than ball games.
“This is much more than a sporting stadium. This is an entire entertainment precinct,” he said.
“This all plays into our vision of being the premier visitor economy of the Asia Pacific. We know that we can bring in $65 billion a year by 2030 ... and this stadium is going to be at the heart of that with extraordinary cultural, sporting and entertainment events.”
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