Upgraded Gabba ready for Grand Final
The $35 million upgrade of the Gabba’s facilities have been completed ahead of Saturday’s historic AFL Grand Final at the Brisbane stadium.
Newly renovated bars and entertainment areas on level four will make their debut for Saturday’s Grand Final under lights between Richmond and Geelong. The works also included upgraded public, corporate and media facilities.
The Gabba General Manager Mark Zundans said the upgrades had helped modernise the venue and would improve the match-day atmosphere and experience for fans.
“It’s been a big few months of construction, and we’re really excited to unveil the upgrade this weekend, and put our best foot forward for Grand Final day,” Mr Zundans said.
“From the moment they step through our new brightly coloured gate structures, fans will get a sense of the changes, with colour-coded sectional theming making it easier to get around the ground,” he said.
“We’ve got refreshed food outlets and two fantastic new destination bars surrounded by lively artwork by local Brisbane street artists which adds interest, excitement and engagement opportunities to give fans a memorable experience in and outside the seating bowl.
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“In preparation for the Grand Final we’ve done a deep clean and given the place a fresh lick of paint and we’ve rostered on about a thousand staff to work the event.”
The upgrade was initially launched back in June 2019, to secure future key cricket fixtures at the venue, while work commenced earlier this year. Other improvements have included two new larger video screens and LED lighting.
O’Brien Group has catered at the Gabba for more than 20 years and its Director, Anne-Maree O'Brien, said catering staff were already working hard behind the scenes ahead of the weekend’s big event.
“The AFL grand final is one of the biggest events in Australia’s sporting calendar and our team have been working hard to make sure the event will go down as one to remember,” Miss O’Brien said.
“We will be receiving 20 tonnes of fresh Queensland produce, 6 semi-trailers full of kegs of beer, which is enough to fill an Olympic diving pool,” she said.
“We are predicting that on game day we will sell around 12,000 chips, 8,000 hot pies and 8,000 hot dogs - enough Hot Dogs to go around the boundary line twice!”
A sell-out crowd of 30,000 will be in attendance for the AFL season-decider, with the Gabba able to be filled to 75% of its capacity due to Covid-19 restrictions.
