Looming over the Swan River the Perth Stadium sits silent and imposing. A massive hulk of brushed metal, intricate curves and sloping framework, Western Australia’s sporting centrepiece truly is a marvel to behold.
Officially opened in 2018 after board meetings, design meetings, negotiations and compromises, the Perth Stadium, known as the Optus Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is situated on rejuvenated swamp land and is the main draw of a specifically built area of the city to host, watch, and enjoy a multitude of events from rugby, AFL, and football matches to musical concerts and even the WWE.
This winter the multi-purpose stadium will also host its first Ashes test match, taking over from the famous and traditional WACA ground, with fans from both England and Australia flocking to Perth in November to experience the match first hand.
Perth Stadium CEO, Mike McKenna, explained how and why the venue was built as an answer to the city’s growing desire for improvement and innovation.
“Sometime around 2013 the process started and the debate within WA was about whether we needed a new stadium,” McKenna told The Independent.
“At the same time there were questions about the WACA redevelopment. The WACA had gone down the path of developing the stadium by selling parts of the land to use for commercial and residential development. That was really opposed by Cricket Australia who didn’t think that was great for the Western Australia Cricket Association.
“The debate went on; do we need two new venues? One new venue? They decided they wanted one stadium to be a multi-purpose investment.”
The decision to make the stadium a multi-purpose venue is clearly evident. Spreading out from the concourse there are tennis courts, a racetrack, cricket nets, plenty of parking and a purpose-built train station to improve public transport usage for matchday fans.
“The public transport service brings people here. Not only are there great bus and train access but they’ve built a network of routes that serve the venue on gameday,” McKenna clarified.
“We probably get about 77-78% of people who arrive come by public transport in a city that loves cars. It’s accessible, it’s easy to walk, train or bus.
“When you walk from the bus, train or the city you get caught up in the atmosphere. There’s a lot of people coming on foot and you get that buzz that comes with arriving at a great venue.
“If you’re wearing Barmy Army gear, you’ll get the same reception as someone wearing Australia gear because people want you here and having a good time. There’ll be the typical ribbing from both sides but there’s not that animosity you can get in other places with cultures clashing together.”
Typically, an Ashes series down under begins in Brisbane, at the Gabba in recent times, but this year’s tour will begin in Perth. As the Perth Stadium has never held an Ashes test – they missed out in 2021/22 due to Covid restrictions – there is an air of the unknown about the beginning of this series.
The Gabba is well known for its hostility, especially for England’s players, and a cauldron-like atmosphere from hyped up fans but will that be replicated in a larger stadium built to hold 61,000 people?
McKenna believes so.
“The atmosphere of the first ball of the first test of a series is quite incredible,” he revealed with fan-like joy.
“Something always happens. Expect the unexpected for that first ball. Whatever it is, that moment everybody is there together, and you get that roar that is quite different from anything else.
“This is the most passionate group of sports fans in the country. They’ll take it out on the English team on the field and that first ball will be a hell of a lot louder than the Gabba.
“If Australia are bowling first, it’ll be even more raucous. You wouldn’t want to lose the toss here and bat if you’re an English team on the first day. This place retains noise well, it’s designed and engineered to keep the sound in so if you have 55,000 people here for a first ball and someone running in about to deliver it, it’ll be big.
“The Gabba is an old-fashioned design and as you get further away in your seat you’re further away from the ground. Here the stands have been built to face inwards, and you feel that in the ground.”
And as for the game itself, well, the Perth Stadium was specially designed to accommodate drop-in pitches which have been specially tested and grown to replicate the fast and bouncy conditions that the WACA is known for.
McKenna explained: “Part of the objective when the stadium was built was to replicate the old WACA wickets. The myth of it is that it’s fast, bouncy and lots of carry. That’s what’s been replicated and it’s probably better than the WACA wickets were towards the end of their time.
“It doesn’t crack up like the WACA wicket used to do, we used to have big, wide cracks running down the wicket, but this one doesn’t crack that much. When it does start to crack there’s a lot more variable bounce. It’ll play fast but like the WACA if you can last and get yourself in you can get runs.”
