Second game of the series, which is one of Australia’s biggest sporting events, will be held at the new stadium.
Western Australia Premier and tourism minister Colin Barnett has announced that the state government, through Tourism WA, had won the rights to host the second game of the series at the new Perth Stadium.
“Holding a State of Origin match at our magnificent stadium is a huge coup for Western Australia,” Barnett said in a venue statement. “Arguably Australia’s biggest sporting rivalry is the Rugby League State of Origin series between the New South Wales Blues and the Queensland Maroons.
“We are expecting thousands of fans to make the trip west to be at the game and millions more will watch the live television broadcast, which gives us the opportunity to show off our transforming city and world-class new stadium to the rest of Australia.”
Barnett said State of Origin matches were the most watched sporting events on Australian television, drawing an audience of 3.96m viewers last year, out-rating popular events such as the AFL Grand Final and the Melbourne Cup.
“The 2019 match will be only the tenth time in State of Origin history that part of the series has been played outside New South Wales or Queensland,” Barnett said.
“Having Perth Stadium means WA can now host some of the biggest sporting events in the world, which will have an incredible flow-on effect for the state’s economy.
“For rectangular events such as this, high-quality seats close to the action will be added as part of the customization of the venue and this will increase the capacity from 60,000 to 65,000 seats,” Barnett said.
“In a break from tradition, the Perth match will be played on a weekend instead of a Wednesday evening. This will give fans travelling from interstate the chance to spend the weekend in Perth, which will be a massive boost for the economy.”
The Western Australia Premier said events at the new Perth Stadium formed a crucial part of the state government’s strategy to grow WA’s tourism industry.
Barnett acknowledged Venueswest and VenuesLive – the recently named operator of Perth Stadium – as important partners in the deal with State of Origin.
“In the year ending March 2016, visitors to WA spent A$9.3bn (US$7bn) during their stay in the state and we want to see that figure grow to A$12bn (US$9bn) by 2020,” Barnett said.
“Events will help us reach that goal which is why in the recent state budget, we committed A$30m (US$22.5m) toward bringing business, sporting and entertainment events to Western Australia, including a A$19m (US$14m) investment to activate Perth Stadium.”
July 21, 2016
