ANZ Stadium - Interesting Facts

Throughout its short history, ANZ Stadium has been through a major reconfiguration in 2011 and may be going through another reconfiguration in the near future. The major configuration of the stadium occured straight after the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, which saw the shortening of the north and south wings as well as the installation of awnings in the north and south stands and movable seating sections in the lower part of the stadaium. This was done to accommodate other major Australian sporting events such as rugby and Australian Rules football to name a few.


ANZ Stadium before the configuration. Courtesy of skyscrapercity.com



 

ANZ Stadium after the configuration. Courtesy of en.wikipedia.org

 In July 2013, the New South Wales Minister for Sport and Recreation released a plan for another reconfiguration of ANZ Stadium and its surroundings areas, including a retractable roof and another adjustment to the lower seating bowl to bring spectators closer to the action. In February 2014, ANZ Stadium's operator (Stadium Australia Operations Pty. Ltd.) called for an "Expression of Interest" to consortiums for the right to redevelop ANZ Stadium.

For more information, check out:
http://www.brookfieldmultiplex.com/projects/australasia/nsw/construction_and_development/tourism_and_leisure/completed/stadium_australia/
http://www.anzstadium.com.au/footer/news-and-media/2014/building-a-stadium-of-the-future/
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/anz-stadium-revamp-to-include-roof-under-250-million-state-government-plan/story-fni0cx12-1226672823616

ANZ Stadium - General Information

ANZ Stadium, sometimes referred to as Stadium Australia or the Olympic Stadium, is a multi-puropse stadium located in the Sydney Olympic Park precinct in Sydney, Australia. When the stadium opened, it contained a capacity of around 110, 000 in time for the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Today, however, the stadium's overall capacity depends on which type type of field configuration is being used as the capacity with a rectangular field is said to be around 83, 500 while an oval field is around 82, 500.  With its large capacity, ANZ Stadium has hosted many different sporting events ranging from rugby league, rugby union, Australian rules football, soccer and cricket. Unlike many other stadiums, ANZ Stadium has no definitive stands and is only referred to the basic names of the North, East, West and South stands.

For more information, check out the seating map of ANZ Stadium:
http://www.anzstadium.com.au/the-stadium/stadium-map/

ANZ Stadium with the oval configuration. Courtesy of en.wikipedia.org

ANZ Stadium with the rectangular configuration. Courtesy of en.wikipedia.org 

There are several ways of getting to and from ANZ Stadium through public transport. These services may include buses, trains, ferries and taxis depending on schedule. Under normal circumstances, these services have definitive routes and schedules to arriving and departing the stadium and ususally operates daily. During any major events in the stadium, however, these services, particularly the bus and train services,operate under special timetables which allows the people to arrive at the stadium usually an hour or so before the start of the event provided you have a ticket to attend the event. The tickets are also useful as it usually translates into a free ride when using the normal public transport on the day of the event. Just check the NSW transport website for more details. I would advise anyone going to the stadium, especially during a major event, to utilise the public transport services as it is easily accessible and ensures that you focus your energy in enjoying whatever event you are there to see at ANZ Stadium.

For more information, go to:
http://www.anzstadium.com.au/getting-here/
http://www.sydneybuses.info/travelling-with-us/travelling-to-events/travelling-to-events.htm
http://www.sydneytrains.info/travelling_with/places_to_go/olympic_park
http://www.sydneybuses.info/
http://www.sydneytrains.info/

ANZ Stadium

 It was bigger than life. That’s what occurred to me when I hopped off the special events bus and walked a few metres into the view of ANZ Stadium in Sydney. Of course, that wasn’t the only thing in front of me; there were also a huge amount of people bustling their own way through the tight-knit crowd. As far as the eye could see, people were in red, waving their flags and banners around, chanting the team’s iconic song in expectant of a great game and a win. After all, it was in their nature. It was July 20, 2013 when Manchester United came to town for a friendly match against the A-League All Stars. As a massive fan of the team from Manchester, I knew this was probably the biggest opportunity, in my short life, to see my heroes in action. So, there I was, walking towards this great stadium swarmed by the huge masses of people who share my support for the team.

ANZ Stadium before the match

As me and my parents got through the crowded, to say the least, front gates, we entered the spacious atrium with a makeshift in-stadium megastore selling official merchandise. Then, we made our way to, at least, four flights of escalators to where our seats were allocated which was at second tier of the East stand. We ate first, ordering a hot dog and chips with soft drinks, from the concession stand located on the second tier atrium in the East Stand. In my opinion, the food tasted pretty basic I suppose, but it was good enough. Then a few minutes or so, game time was approaching and 83, 000 people or so started filing in. 

Inside the stadium before the match

Fans in the South Stand before the match

So, the game began. The atmosphere was great accompanied by deafening chants and roars of the crowd, mainly from the East Stand since we couldn't quite hear the ones on the other stands, especially when a United player scored. That occurred quite often since United scored 5 times. Near the end of the match, the crowd of 83, 000 people or so began engaging in a Mexican wave. This happened for 10 minutes or so and, to me, was the best part of the whole experience. Then, as the game finished, people began filing out in the same manner that they entered but the hassle was worth it. Our team won and 83,000 people or so, including me, went home very happy.

Last look at ANZ Stadium after the game

Eden Park - Interesting Facts

Eden Park contains many different features as it underwent an ample amount of development and redevelopments since its existence in 1900. Most recently, the stadium was redeveloped in 2010 in preparation for the 2011 Rugby World Cup. The redevelopment of the stadium saw the capacity increase from 50 000 to 60 000 by the addition of a rebuilt 22 000 capacity of the South Stand as well as portable tiers located in the East Stand and West Stand. These portable tiers were soon dismantled after the World Cup and sent to London for the construction of the Olympic Stadium for the 2012 Olympic Games. There were also several added features to the stadium most notably the 9,527 square meter Texlon ETFE facade, the first of its kind, to resemble the iconic fern emblem of New Zealand.

Eden Park's Texlon ETFE facade courtesy of architecturenow.co.nz

For more information, go to:
http://edenpark.co.nz/about/history/
http://www.aurecongroup.com/en/projects/property/eden-park-redevelopment.aspx
http://www.vector-foiltec.com/en/projects/pages/nz-auckland-eden-park-stadium.html
http://architecturenow.co.nz/articles/eden-park/