Optus Stadium will welcome its 100th major event since its grand opening in January 2018, when the West Coast Eagles take on GWS Giants today (August 23).
To date more than 4.1 million fans have flocked to see AFL, cricket, concerts and a host of one off sporting events at the state-of-the-art facility.
Following two AFL events to be held this weekend, it will take the attendance level to approximately 4,116,000 in just over two and half years of action.
It all began at the stadium’s first opening event on January 28, 2018, which attracted 53,781 fans to the final Gillette One-Day International between Australia and England.
Since then, Optus Stadium has been flooded with crowds to 100 major sporting and entertainment events to date, and countless smaller community focused events.
Concert events have included Ed Sheeran, who performed over two nights to 120,979 fans and Taylor Swift performing in front of 48,405 fans.
The last three AFL seasons have seen just over 2.5 million fans, with the stadium achieving a Western Australian AFL record attendance of 59,608 for the West Coast Eagles versus Melbourne AFL Preliminary Final in September 2018.
Other sporting event highlights include Chelsea versus Perth Glory (55,522 fans), Australia versus India Test Match cricket (81,104 across the four days), NRL double header (38,824), Australia versus England One-Day International cricket (53,781), Bledisloe Cup (61,241), State of Origin (59,721) and Manchester United Tour (105,000 over two games) to name just a few.
Optus Stadium has hit a number of big milestones, including welcoming its one millionth visitor after just five months.
The stadium has also received 50 awards, notably being crowned the’ Project of the Year’ at The StadiumBusiness Awards in London and the ‘Most Beautiful Sports Facility’ in the World at the Prix Versailles 2019 international architecture awards.
Since its inception the stadium has been an invaluable asset, generating jobs for more than 6,300 staff.
Optus Stadium was built and designed with public transport in mind and regularly more than 70 per cent of fans attending events travel to the stadium by bus or train.
Local businesses also benefit from major events held at Optus Stadium, with 85 per cent of suppliers to Optus Stadium being Western Australian companies and businesses, which in turn creates important local jobs.
In another major boost for the economy, many fans from regional WA continue to travel to Perth for Optus Stadium events, staying overnight in hotels and enjoying local restaurants and bars, which has seen millions of dollars injected back into the local economy.
As stated by Sport and Recreation Minister Mick Murray:
“What an incredible milestone to have achieved – thanks to the delivery of world-class events at Australia’s best stadium by thousands of fantastic staff members.
“The ability of Optus Stadium to host three major events in the same weekend, allowing the 100 event milestone to be achieved, would not be possible without WA’s hard border and the collective efforts shown by all Western Australians in keeping our State safe during COVID-19.”
