The long-awaited opening date of the Perth Arena has been confirmed as November 10 with a gala opening earmarked to celebrate the arrival of the latest addition to the State’s sport and entertainment venues.
Premier Colin Barnett today announced the Liberal-National Government would deliver a completed Perth Arena open to the public on the weekend of November 10.
“Practical completion will occur in August as previously announced with a three-month commissioning period including all system testing, furnishing, training and a series of test events to follow,” Mr Barnett said.
“The people of Western Australia can expect a very exciting opening program that will allow the community access to fully experience the venue.
“While it cost more than it should have, I’m confident the arena will prove to be a wonderful venue for all West Australians to enjoy.”
Sport and Recreation Minister Terry Waldron said the venue would be a multipurpose facility equipped for everything from concerts for 15,500 fans, to Hopman Cup tennis and dozens of other uses.
“Having this facility means we will see many more touring acts than ever before choose Perth for shows and events,” Mr Waldron said.
The Premier and Minister today also revealed the opening roof with the first public showing of this unique feature.
Fact File
- 6,250 tonnes of Australian steel have been used to build the Perth Arena
- The opening roof can close in seven minutes
Perth Arena Fact Sheet
Opening Roof
- The two panels weigh about 550 tonne and are nearly half an acre each (2,035 square metres – 55m wide by 37m long) – or the equivalent of 34 cricket pitches
- They move 28 metres at a speed of 3.9 metres/minute with a closing time of just more than seven minutes
- The panels form part of the acoustic bowl treatments and are computer controlled and can be moved individually.
Seating
- There are more than 14,800 seats in the venue – 11,700 fixed upholstered seats around the bowl (with armrests and cup holders) and more than 2,600 upholstered temporary seats for the arena floor. The corporate suites have airline style seats.
Four basic stage configurations for the venue:
- End on concert – with the stage located at the northern end of the arena floor. This configuration will accommodate a full house either seated or ‘festival’ style. By using curtains to block off the upper tiered seating, this configuration can also be used in a half house mode up to full house over 15,500
- In the round – locating the stage in the centre of the arena floor can accommodate a full house either seated or ‘festival’ style
- Two thirds – Locating the Stage 2/3 of the way down the arena floor and using the curtains will reduce the capacity to about 6,000
- Lyric mode – Locating the stage at the southern end of the arena floor and dressing the bowl with curtains will reduce the capacity to about 4,000 seats.
Management
- AEG Ogden signed a management contract with VenuesWest last year and have already started work as the operator of the Perth Arena
- AEG Ogden are global leaders in sport and entertainment and the agreement will ensure high quality operational and facilities management of Perth Arena.
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