Sydney Football Stadium (2022)

Last updated

Sydney Football Stadium
Allianz Stadium
Allianz Stadium logo.svg
SydneyFootballStadium Aug2022 Pre-open.jpg
Allianz Stadium in August 2022
Sydney Football Stadium (2022)
Full nameSydney Football Stadium
Address40–44 Driver Avenue
Moore Park
Australia
Coordinates 33°53′21″S151°13′31″E / 33.88917°S 151.22528°E / -33.88917; 151.22528
Public transit
Owner Government of New South Wales
Operator Venues NSW
TypeMulti-purpose stadium
Genre(s)
Capacity 42,500 [1]
Record attendance41,912 (Wallabies v Pumas, 13 September 2025) [2]
Field shapeRectangular
SurfaceGrass
Scoreboard Yes
Construction
Broke ground 15 April 2020;5 years ago (2020-04-15)
Opened28 August 2022;3 years ago (2022-08-28)
Construction cost$828 million
Architect Cox Architecture
General contractor John Holland
Tenants
(2022–present)
(2022–present)
(2022–present)
Website
allianzstadium.com.au

Sydney Football Stadium, currently known as Allianz Stadium for sponsorship reasons, [3] is a multi-purpose stadium in Moore Park, a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Built as a replacement for the original Sydney Football Stadium, it was officially opened on 28 August 2022. The ground's major tenants are the Sydney Roosters of the National Rugby League, the New South Wales Waratahs of Super Rugby, and Sydney FC of the A-League Men. It was one of the venues for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, [4]

Contents

History

In October 2018 plans for the new stadium to replace the original Sydney Football Stadium were released by the Government of New South Wales. [5] In December 2018 Lendlease were appointed to build the stadium. Construction was initially scheduled to commence in 2019 with an early 2022 completion date. [6] In July 2019 the construction part of the Lendlease contract was cancelled by the government, with John Holland and Multiplex shortlisted to bid for the contract. [7] [8] [9] In December 2019 John Holland was awarded a $735 million construction contract, representing a $99 million increase in the original budget for demolition and construction. The total construction cost was $828 million. [10] [11]

The stadium was opened on 28 August 2022. Guy Sebastian performed on the opening night after a free community open day. Bruno Mars performed two concerts as part of his 2022-24 tour on 14 and 15 October 2022. [12] Elton John performed two shows on his global farewell tour in Allianz Stadium on 17 and 18 January 2023. [13]

Elton John performing in his Farewell Tour at Allianz Stadium, 18 January 2023 Elton John at Allianz Stadium, Sydney.jpg
Elton John performing in his Farewell Tour at Allianz Stadium, 18 January 2023

In August 2025, it became known that the stadium had drainage issues which caused a ten week closure of the site. [14]

Construction

Demolition of the previous stadium began on 8 March 2019. Opposition from local interest groups saw them attempt to prevent or slow the demolition via legal action before the 2019 New South Wales state election. After a short court-ordered delay just prior to the election, the existing Government was returned and the demolition of the old stadium continued through to completion on 18 December 2019 at a cost of $40 million.

Construction of the stadium commenced on 15 April 2020 by construction giant John Holland Group, with major piling and excavation works beginning the following month. [15] [16] By the end of 2020 work on the structure had commenced on all four sides of the new venue, which included the main lift cores and precast placement works which would make up the main seating area. Following this the main formwork contractors commenced to allow the slabs to be poured for the main back of house areas. The first seats were installed on 27 October 2021. [17]

External view of the stadium Allianz Stadium-Gate 3.jpg
External view of the stadium

Additional facilities and membership

Colocated with the Stadium but constructed under a separate contract is the Sporting Club of Sydney. [18] This is a premium gym and wellness centre including gymnasiums, squash courts, pools, sauna and spas.

Various memberships are available that provide access to the SCG, Allianz Stadium and the fitness and lifestyle facilities. SCG Members do not have access to Allianz Stadium nor the fitness and lifestyle facilities.

Members have access to dedicated seating, bars and restaurants within the stadium.

Various Tenant Clubs also offer membership to their home games at the stadium. These seats are generally in public areas other than Tunnel and Clubhouse memberships offered by Sydney FC.

Just like the Western Sydney Stadium the SFS also has dual configuration safe standing to be used by active support. Quick removal seating blocks are able to be switched out for standing rails in the three bays of the Northern end. [19]

Political and contractual issues

The demolition and rebuild of the stadium was an issue in the 2019 New South Wales state election. The opposition Labor Party opposed the rebuild. [20] The election was won by the incumbent government and the Sydney Football Stadium rebuild continued post-election.

In December 2018, Lendlease was unveiled as the successful bidder to carry out the demolition and construction work. Minister for Sport Stuart Ayres was quizzed over how the contract for construction could be awarded, because development consent had not been secured for stage two.

On 26 July 2019, Minister for Sport, Multiculturalism, Seniors and Veterans John Sidoti, announced Lendlease would not be constructing the new stadium because it was unable to complete the $729 million project within budget. At this stage demolition was mostly complete and it appeared the original contract was a fixed price option for the construction phase. [7] John Holland took over the project after Lendlease declined to continue.

Attendance records

Below is a table of the Sydney Football stadium's attendance records for each sport or event. As of 13 September 2025 [21]

TypeDateHome TeamOpponentCrowd FigureRef.
Concert18 October 2024 Travis Scott 41,814 [22]
Rugby League2 September 2022 Eastern Suburbs colours.svg Sydney Roosters South Sydney colours.svg South Sydney Rabbitohs 41,906 [23]
Rugby Union13 September 2025Flag of Australia (converted).svg Australia Wallabies Flag of Argentina.svg Argentina Pumas 41,912 [24]
Soccer (Men)15 July 2025 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Sydney FC Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wrexham AFC 40,242 [25]
Soccer (Women)30 July 2023Flag of Germany.svg  Germany Flag of Colombia.svg  Colombia 40,499 [26]

2023 FIFA Women's World Cup fixtures

Sydney Football Stadium during the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup Sydney Football Stadium DSS Women's World Cup (53122778469).jpg
Sydney Football Stadium during the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup
DateTeam #1ResultTeam #2RoundAttendance
23 July 2023Flag of France.svg  France 0–0 Flag of Jamaica.svg  Jamaica Group F 39,045
25 July 2023Flag of Colombia.svg  Colombia 2–0 Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea Group H 24,323
28 July 2023Flag of England.svg  England 1–0 Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark Group D 40,439
30 July 2023Flag of Germany.svg  Germany 1–2 Flag of Colombia.svg  Colombia Group H 40,499
2 August 2023Flag of Panama.svg  Panama 3–6 Flag of France.svg  France Group F 40,498
6 August 2023Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands 2–0 Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa Round of 16 40,233

See also

References

  1. "Allianz Stadium". Austadiums. Archived from the original on 8 October 2023. Retrieved 4 September 2022.
  2. "Wallabies fall short of huge comeback in Rugby Championship defeat to Argentina". Guardian. Archived from the original on 13 September 2025. Retrieved 14 September 2025.
  3. "Allianz Stadium Continues SFS Naming Rights". Sydney Roosters. 21 March 2022. Archived from the original on 25 March 2023. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  4. "6.2.2 Sydney – Sydney Football Stadium" (PDF). asone2023.com. p. 54. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 April 2023. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  5. Gerathy, Sarah (12 October 2018). "New Sydney Football Stadium artist impressions revealed". ABC News . Archived from the original on 12 June 2019. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  6. Robinson, Joel (21 December 2018). "Lendlease announced as builder of new Sydney Football Stadium". Property Observer. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  7. 1 2 Dole, Nick (29 July 2019). "Sydney Football Stadium without a builder as Lendlease loses project". ABC News . Archived from the original on 18 December 2019. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  8. "Sydney Football Stadium rebuild in chaos as builder exits". Austadiums. CV Media. 29 July 2019. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  9. "Two firms bid for Sydney stadium rebuild". The Canberra Times . Australian Community Media. 8 August 2019. Archived from the original on 12 August 2020. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  10. "Contract awarded for Sydney Football Stadium". NSW Government Digital Channels. NSW Government. 18 December 2019. Archived from the original on 27 December 2021. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  11. Visentin, Lisa; Keoghan, Sarah; and Noyes, Jenny (18 December 2019). "Sydney Football Stadium cost blows out by $99 million as government signs new deal". The Sydney Morning Herald . Archived from the original on 5 May 2020. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  12. "Bruno Mars". TEG DAINTY. Archived from the original on 16 October 2022. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
  13. "Elton John". Frontier Touring. Archived from the original on 20 January 2023. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  14. Vidal, Paulina (17 August 2025). "Sydney stadium to shut for fixes at no cost to taxpayers, premier says". ABC News. Archived from the original on 18 August 2025. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  15. Voss, Cameron (15 April 2020). "Sydney Football Stadium construction commences". Austadiums. CV Media. Archived from the original on 13 June 2020. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  16. Stonehouse, Greta (7 May 2020). "Sydney stadium on track despite pandemic". The Canberra Times. Australian Community Media. Archived from the original on 6 July 2020. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  17. "First seats Installed at Sydney FC's New Stadium" Archived 28 October 2021 at the Wayback Machine . Sydney FC. 27 October 2021.
  18. "Home". Sporting Club of Syd. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  19. "Victory cause a splash in Allianz return". 9 October 2022. Archived from the original on 14 August 2023. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  20. Michael Daley tells Alan Jones he will sack him and the entire SCG board Archived 8 March 2019 at the Wayback Machine ABC News 5 March 2019
  21. Austadiums. "Allianz Stadium Crowds | Austadiums". Archived from the original on 17 July 2025. Retrieved 18 July 2025.
  22. "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
  23. "Roosters v Rabbitohs". National Rugby League. Retrieved 13 September 2025.
  24. "Wallabies fall short of huge comeback in Rugby Championship defeat to Argentina". Guardian. 12 September 2025. Retrieved 13 September 2025.
  25. Edwards, Josh (15 July 2025). "Sydney FC Stun Hollywood Club Wrexham AFC". Sydney FC . Retrieved 18 July 2025.
  26. "Germany 1 - 2 Colombia". Fifa. Retrieved 5 July 2025.