It’s the Western Sydney stadium that set out to change the event experience forevermore, and Bankwest Stadium has now been jointly named Greater Western Sydney’s premier infrastructure Project of the Year for 2019.
In a fine recognition for the Stadium that opened to the public with a Community Open Day on 14 April and has since welcomed more than 500,000 fans through the gates, Bankwest Stadium was on Thursday night announced as joint winner of the 2019 Project of the Year at the BOOMTOWN! Property & Infrastructure Dinner at the Sofitel Sydney Wentworth.
Hosted by the Western Sydney Leadership Dialogue, the BOOMTOWN! 2019 Western Sydney Property & Infrastructure Summit has brought together key stakeholders and showcases the major projects that will shape Greater Western Sydney into the future
Its Project of the Year award acknowledges completed (or near completed) major projects over the past 12 months that have, or will, significantly contribute to the sustainable growth of Greater Western Sydney.
Bankwest Stadium shared the award with Sydney Metro North West, Australia’s first fully automated passenger railway project. Sydney Metro North West, which includes eight new railway stations, five upgraded stations and 4000 commuter car parking spaces, has catalysed the development of a range of new precincts throughout the north-west and the Hills District.
Awarded by NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian in front of a sold-out room of 500 leaders in property, infrastructure, business and community, the two projects were recognised as “once in a generation” for their role in transforming perceptions, liveability as well as physical and cultural connections across Greater Western Sydney.
The joint 2019 Project of the Year Award was received by the CEO of Venues NSW, Mr Paul Doorn. Bankwest Stadium is owned by Venues NSW, on behalf of the NSW Government, and operated by VenuesLive, a leading provider of management and hospitality services to venues and events.
Bankwest Stadium was earlier in the night awarded the Outstanding Sports & Major Events Project for 2019 – one of 9 Category Winners vying for the ultimate prize of 2019 Project of the Year.
Dialogue Chairman, Christopher Brown AM, said: “Bankwest Stadium has set a new benchmark when it comes to how we engage and experience sport and entertainment in Western Sydney.
“The stadium has been a massive hit with spectators, users and the community, and the positive economic and social flow-on effects it’s delivered, has helped validate the NSW Government’s stadium investment strategy and has been a boon to Eels and Wanderers fans.”
See the full list of Category Winners here.
Economic analysis conducted for City of Parramatta Council has shown that Bankwest Stadium is bringing a financial benefit of nearly $1 million to Parramatta each time an event is held at the Stadium.
More than 500,000 fans have passed through the Stadium’s turnstiles to witness sport and entertainment events since Bankwest Stadium opened its doors to the public on Sunday 14 April.
An additional 27,000 visitors have attended functions, business meetings, community or cultural events in the same time period.
Bankwest Stadium hosted its first international football event earlier this month when the Westfield Matildas played Chile in front of a crowd of 20,029 – a record attendance for a women’s football match in Australia.
The Stadium has already hosted an international rugby Test, Wallabies v Samoa, on Saturday 7 September, and international rugby league in the form of the Downer Rugby League World Cup 9s on 18-19 October. Rugby’s HSBC Sydney 7s tournament will be staged at Bankwest Stadium on 1-2 February.
Thirty-six sport and entertainment events are already locked in for 2020 including historic first concerts featuring Australian rock legends Cold Chisel and Hoodoo Gurus on Friday 24 January, and global superstar Elton John on Saturday 7 March.
Four NRL clubs will play home matches at Bankwest Stadium in season 2020 – the Parramatta Eels (11 games), Wests Tigers (4 games), Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs (4 games) and South Sydney Rabbitohs (2 games).
The NSW Waratahs will play three home games at Bankwest Stadium, including blockbuster matches against Queensland Reds (Saturday 18 April) and the Brumbies (Saturday 23 May).
Western Sydney Wanderers made their debut at Bankwest Stadium by hosting storied English club Leeds United on Saturday 20 July and will play all 13 of their home games games in the 2019/20 Hyundai A-League season at the Stadium.
Bankwest Stadium is a dedicated 30,000-seat Stadium that brings fans closer to the action than ever before and hosts a range of sporting events, concerts, special events, functions and meetings.
Bankwest Stadium was designed and constructed by Lendlease in conjunction with architect Populous. It was delivered by Infrastructure NSW on behalf of the NSW Government.
The BOOMTOWN! 2019 Project of the Year Award is the third award bestowed upon Bankwest Stadium since its opening.
In September, the Bankwest Stadium project received its first award when Stowe Australia took out the NECA Excellence Award for its work on the revolutionary electrical and lighting systems within the Stadium, with stunning light shows a feature of night-time events at Bankwest Stadium.
