First seats installed at new Sydney Football Stadium

Minister for Sport Natalie Ward said the new Sydney Football Stadium (SFS) has been designed for fans to have the best game day experience possible:

The highly-anticipated new SFS is really starting to come to life before our eyes and it’s so exciting to start to see what fans will experience when they fill the stands.

Sports lovers are in for a real treat, with all 42,500 seats designed to be as close as possible to the field of play with amazing views.

Around 900 seats have just been installed, completing three bays in the middle tier of the southern stand, with all seats expected to be in by the middle of next year.

The seat design has been created by award-winning Indigenous artist Tony Albert, with the theme “Two Worlds Colliding – Water and Land” telling a story about place and country, while providing a nod to the contest of two competing teams. The seats themselves are being installed and manufactured by Camatic Seating and partners.

Minister Ward said:

This state-of the-art stadium will be a world-class drawcard for visitors far and wide, providing a boost to the economy and building on Sydney’s strong entertainment and sporting culture.

The new SFS will include an open concourse with views of the field from a range of food and beverage outlets, and more amenities to minimise wait times.

Minister Ward added:

The recently-announced adjacent village precinct will also deliver new open spaces, plus a children’s play area and new cafe and restaurant.

Around 1,100 workers are on site every day, with another 600 jobs to be created when the stadium is open.

To further boost the local economy, about $300 million worth of contracts have been awarded to NSW-based suppliers and contractors, including steel manufacturing for the roof elements and a turf farm in western Sydney for the pitch.

The venue is situated in Australia’s busiest sporting precinct, which is home to the world-famous Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). The precinct is home to some of the most successful teams across five major sporting codes and houses facilities for business, education and major events.

A futuristic stadium

The NSW Government is redeveloping the Sydney Football Stadium (SFS) into a modern, world-class venue, to ensure Sydney has a sporting and entertainment precinct of international standard and that NSW remains the number one choice for sporting and entertainment events.

Investing in a new state-of-the-art stadium at Moore Park will drive growth in the visitor economy, promote a strong culture and sporting sector, and make NSW more liveable.

The project will build on the legacy of the Sydney Sports Ground (1899) and the original SFS, opened as a Bicentennial Project in 1988.

The original venue has been demolished and is being rebuilt into a 40,000 to 45,000-seat rectangular stadium with substantially improved sightlines, a roof that covers all patrons, with vastly improved amenities, food and beverage options and accessibility.

Sydney based firm COX Architecture (COX) was successful in designing the A$729 million new stadium, which is due to open in 2022.

Pete Sullivan, Director of COX, said:

Creating something that both ‘fits in yet stands out’ in that part of Sydney is obviously a tough ask for any design team, as is the task of creating a piece of 7-day civic infrastructure that provides superior amenity and services to multiple specialist and public groups. More than this, these services must be provided in a way that doesn’t detract from what a stadium needs to do well; provide a superior platform for sports and events spectacle for teams, performers and fans. And of course, there was the added responsibility to craft a form which progresses the elegance, balance and recognition of Philip Cox’s original design.

Technical Information

Where is the project up to?

Work to build the new Sydney Football Stadium is progressing in accordance with a COVID19 Safety Plan. Construction activities on site include:

• Internal fit-out, including blockwork, plastering and painting.
• Installing stadium façade paneling, comprising of precast concrete around the bottom and a curtain wall of bronze coloured powder coated panels.
• Installation of steel roof elements.
• Installation of the stadium seating has begun

Source: NSW Government

Images, courtesy: COX and NSW Government

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