New Perth Stadium revealed

The design of Perth’s new sports stadium at Burswood has been revealed with the new 60,000-seat venue to cost $820 million.

The world-class five-tiered stadium will have 85% of its seats undercover, a striking bronze facade that reflects Western Australia’s unique geology, LED lights that show home sports team colours, and a wide range of ‘fans first’ facilities including two of the largest video screens in the country.

Western Australia Premier Colin Barnett and Sport and Recreation Minister Terry Waldron unveiled the winning stadium design at a special event on the Burswood Peninsula on Thursday.

Mr Barnett said contractual negotiations between the State Government and WESTADIUM to design, build, partially finance and maintain the new Perth Stadium and Sports Precinct were successfully concluded and the contract would be signed in coming days.

“This is a very exciting day for all West Australians and I am delighted to reveal the design of this world-class venue, which will play a pivotal role in the transformation of Perth,” the Premier said.

“The winning design successfully meets the State’s requirement for a world-class, multi-purpose stadium within a parkland setting, and does so with a uniquely Western Australian focus.

“The seating bowl maximises stadium atmosphere, gives fans exceptional views and brings them close to the action, providing a special home ground advantage for our teams.

“These facilities will not only deliver an outstanding fan experience on event days, but will also provide year-round access to a magnificent recreational precinct.

“I’m also particularly pleased to announce that the successful negotiations for this contract have confirmed that the capital cost of the stadium is around $40million less than what was originally budgeted.”

Mr Waldron said this was an important day in the State’s sporting history which reflected the meticulous planning undertaken over the past three years and an unrelenting focus on successfully delivering a ‘fans first’ stadium.

“The emphasis on delivering a venue that has the fan experience at the very heart is very much in evidence in this design,” he said.

“Seat sizes are generous and each one will have a cup holder; fans will enjoy access to more than 70 food and beverage outlets; and those requiring higher levels of access - such as people in wheelchairs - will be able to use designated seating platforms across all seating tiers.

“The technology provisions include 4G Wi-Fi coverage across the stadium and precinct, two giant 240sqm video screens - some of the biggest in the country - and a further 1,000 screens throughout the stadium so fans never miss any of the action.

“The stadium will include the widest range of seating and hospitality options of any stadia in Australia.”

The design of the sporting and recreation precinct surrounding the stadium is inspired by Dreamtime stories and the connection with the Swan River, and will have three distinct recreational spaces encouraging use by the community all year round.

A covered Community Arbour, linking the new six-platform stadium station to the river, will represent Noongar community stories.  The western section of the precinct will be home to an amphitheatre, two children’s playgrounds, picnic areas and a boardwalk while the community sporting oval to the north will be available for public use on non-event days, as well as providing event-day parking.

On site, WESTADIUM will now begin preparations for construction to start by the end of the year.  This will involve erecting site offices, mobilising machinery and other facilities necessary to accommodate a peak workforce of 950 during the construction phase.

The WESTADIUM consortium has significant international stadia experience and its members have been involved in an impressive array of past projects, including the recently completed and highly acclaimed Adelaide Oval redevelopment, ANZ Stadium Australia and the Dallas Cowboys Stadium in the USA.

The consortium is led by three key members, Brookfield Multiplex (design and construction), John Laing (equity investor and asset management) and Brookfield Johnson Controls (facilities management).

About the new Perth Stadium

• Construction of the new Perth Stadium will commence later this year and is due to be open in time for the start of the 2018 AFL season
• The Project Definition Plan released in December 2012 stated the project budget was $902.4m, consisting of $820.7m for the stadium and $81.7m for the sports precinct, plus $16m for project management
• Finalisation of the design-build-finance-maintain contract for the stadium and sports precinct confirms the project is within budget
• Roof coverage to more than 85 per cent of its seats
• LED lights that show home sports team colours
• Two huge video screens, over 1000 TVs, 600 bike racks, 70 food outlets and 1500 toilets.