By ZACHARY COLWELL
MORE than 250,000 fans will attend a spring festival of elite sporting events in Western Sydney over the next 10 days – driving the visitor economy and providing a significant boost to businesses across Greater Sydney.
Hotel operators are reporting high demand for accommodation throughout Sydney, with Sydney Olympic Park and Parramatta at near capacity.
The events have attracted thousands of regional, interstate and international visitors to NSW.
The amazing run of events includes:
• 22 Sep-1 Oct: The 2022 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup, with 12 nations playing 38 games at two of Sydney Olympic Park’s signature indoor venues, the Sydney SuperDome (Qudos Bank Arena) and the State Sports Centre (Quaycentre).
• Sat 24 Sep: Chandon Golden Rose Day at Rosehill Gardens;
• Sat 24 Sep: NRL Preliminary Final – Panthers v Rabbitohs at Accor Stadium, Sydney Olympic Park.
• Sun 25 Sep: NSWRL Grand Finals Day at CommBank Stadium, Parramatta– three Grand Finals in one day. President’s Cup: Maitland Pickers v RMC Hills Bulls; Jersey Flegg: Newcastle Knights v Penrith Panthers; Knock on Effect Cup: Penrith Panthers v Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs.
• Wed 28 Sep: Big Sports Breakfast Race Day, Rosehill Gardens
• Sat 1 Oct: FIBA Women’s World Cup Final at Sydney Superdome, Sydney Olympic Park
• Sat 1 Oct: Australia Cup 2022 Final – Sydney United 58 FC v Macarthur Bulls FC at CommBank Stadium, Parramatta.
• Sun 2 Oct: NRL Telstra Premiership Grand Final Sydney at Accor Stadium, Sydney Olympic Park.
The largest attendances will be at Accor Stadium for the NRL Prelim Final (50,000-plus) and NRL Grand Final (80,000-plus), while Golden Rose Day (15,000), the Women’s Basketball World Cup Final (17,000), and Australia Cup Final (15,000) will all draw large crowds. More than 100,000 fans are anticipated to attend games at the World Cup.
With such large numbers of sports fans attending multiple events, organisers are strongly recommending fans take advantage of the fact Train Travel is included in all tickets to the Women’s Basketball World Cup and to the NRL Prelim Final and Grand Final at Accor Stadium.
The spring festival of sport in Western Sydney continues the amazing run of events in NSW on the back of the global pandemic.
CommBank Stadium at Parramatta was the first venue in NSW to host sporting events after the lockdown last spring and has hosted more major sporting events than any other venue in the State over the past 12 months.
The festival also showcases the power of Western Sydney as a region capable of hosting multiple events and massive crowds.
Photo: Racing at Rosehill.
