As Perth Arena has shifted from the opening phase into full operation, the venue has staged more than 50 major events in the past five months for 400,000 patrons.
“This success is a testament to the industry as a whole and the people of Western Australia who have embraced the Australian city’s new home of entertainment in a relatively short period of time,” said Steve Hevern, arena general manager. “In essence, it is hard to imagine how they ever lived without it.”
Perth Arena is owned by VenuesWest, which operates Challenge Stadium, WA Basketball Centre and Arena Joondalup, among other venues, and is managed by AEG Ogden, the Australasian arm of AEG Worldwide.
The arena broke tennis records when it drew 30,000 visitors for The Hyundai Hopman Cup tennis tournament. Its tenant Perth Wildcats have hosted over 100,000 more people than last season, making their games the most attended in the Australian National Basketball League by a big margin.
The success of these events followed construction delays that resulted in the AEG Ogden team moving into the arena only three weeks before the first event. Cost and time miscalculations increased the price of the project from $150 million to $550 million.
The original design also underwent a modification, which relocated the 680-car parking lot from above a nearby railway line to a separate area underneath the venue.
The team also was dealing with the overall challenges of the venue’s unique design, which reportedly makes it one of Australia’s most complex steel buildings.
“Being ready required a huge team effort,” said Tim Worton, group director, arenas, AEG Ogden.
There were a number of unexpected events that marked the period just prior to the Perth Arena’s opening.
First, on Sept. 4, the arena’s first general manager, David Humphreys, 57, who led the team through the preopening period, passed away unexpectedly of heart failure.
In addition, George Michael was to open the Arena, and tickets had been on sale for several months, but he was forced to cancel only weeks before the opening date due to health concerns.
“Sir Elton John was already sold out for a show two days after opening, and we were incredibly lucky that his promoter, Chugg Entertainment, was able to get him here a bit earlier to step into the breach and provide us with a spectacular and memorable opening,” Worton said.
Interviewed for this story: Steve Hevern, (08) 6211 7600; Tim Worton, (61 7) 3265 5888
