Perth’s 60,000 seat Optus Stadium will this month play host to one of Australia’s biggest sporting events – the 2021 Toyota AFL Grand Final. Bouncing down on September 25, this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity will showcase the world-class venue to a huge national audience, and help position Perth as a sport lover’s dream destination.
Opening to applause in January 2018, the world’s most beautiful sporting complex (as dubbed by the prestigious Prix Versailles Architecture Award – Sports – 2019) is home to the AFL in WA, and also hosts cricket, rugby union, rugby league, soccer and music concerts.
Since opening, the world-class venue has hosted sell sporting and music events such as Premier League powerhouses Manchester Football Club and Chelsea Football Club, Rugby League State of Origin, the Bledisloe Cup, plus major international artists Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran.
Major events coming up in the 2021/22 calendar include:
- The 2021/22 Big Bash League will heat up the stadium over December and January, with the Perth Scorchers playing seven home games in the lead up to the finals.
- Factory Summer Festival will bring the beats this summer, with three events at Stadium Park on December 18, 24 and 31 – with Australian artists such as The Veronicas, Lime Cordial and Hermitude set to perform.
- The fifth match of the 2022 Ashes Test Series will be hosted by the stadium for the first time from January 14 to 18. Australia will take on England as they battle it out on the last leg of the series.
- Australia will take on New Zealand in an epic One Day International (ODI) cricket match on January 30, 2022.
- The Rugby League State of Origin will also return to the stadium in June 2022. The New South Wales Blues will clash with the Queensland Maroons in one of Australia’s most fiercely contested games.
Also adding to the experience, the stadium has recently welcomed the opening of an exciting new tour experience – the HALO Rooftop Climb. Guests can climb the 78 steps up to the roof of the stadium on a guided tour and experience the stunning city views, take in a bird’s-eye view of the field of play, and sit in seats 42 metres above the ground. Construction has also started on a new 42-metre-high viewing platform, allowing visitors to walk several metres beyond the edge of the stadium roof.
Other tour options include ‘behind the scenes’ guided tours of the stadium, and Warrang-Bridil Aboriginal cultural tours around the stadium precinct and along the shores of the Derbal Yerrigan (Swan River).
Situated next to Perth’s iconic Swan River, it’s not just sporting games and major entertainment events that draw visitors to the stadium, the surrounding Stadium Park is home to nature playgrounds, boardwalks, picnic and barbeque areas, public art, recreational facilities, plus an amphitheatre with outdoor screens.
Open seven days a week is the City Views Café, offering breakfast or lunch against the stunning backdrop of the Swan River and Perth City; plus Australia’s biggest pub, The Camfield. With room for up to 2,500 patrons, it features a microbrewery, five bars, 180 beer taps, and unsurpassed views of the Perth CBD and the river.
Providing pedestrian access over the Swan River, from East Perth to the Optus Stadium Precinct, Perth’s Matagarup Bride is the centrepiece for an iconic new adventure tourism attraction – the Matagarup Bridge Zip+Climb, which opened in January 2021. Guests can climb the 314 steps to reach the bridge’s 72-metre-high Sky View platform – offering stunning 360-degree views over the city, Swan River and Optus Stadium. By the end of 2021, adventure seekers will also be able to zip-line from the launch platform of the bridge, 400 metres across the Swan River to a landing platform in Burswood Park.