Matrax Announce New Partnership: Two major stadiums in New South Wales, Australia, have entered into a strategic partnership with Matrax Inc. after acquiring 12,400 square metres of Matrax 4×4 stadium flooring that will enable the venues to host multiple entertainment events while protecting the playing fields.
ANZ Stadium (capacity 80,000) is the former Sydney Olympic Stadium that hosts many of the city’s major events, including NRL Grand Finals, State of Origin rugby league, Bledisloe Cup rugby Tests and football internationals featuring the Australian team the Socceroos. Bankwest Stadium is a 30,000-seat rectangular stadium and the new home of sport and entertainment in Western Sydney.
The two stadiums are both owned by Venues NSW, on behalf of the NSW Government, and operated by VenuesLive, a leading provider of management and hospitality services to venues and events.
Both stadiums also host major entertainment events. A Metallica concert and the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo will be staged at ANZ Stadium in October, while Queen will play at the venue in February 2020. Elton John will play at Bankwest Stadium in March 2020.
Hosting these major events requires the construction of massive and complex stages, including vast video walls and elaborate sound systems. Fully-loaded tractor trailers, cranes and other heavy equipment must be supported without negatively impacting the sensitive playing surface.
The NSW stadiums selected Matrax 4×4 stadium event flooring for its exceptional field performance. Having been in use in major stadiums around the world for many years, the Matrax panels have a proven track record of superior field protection. Engineered expressly for stadiums, the Matrax panels are lightweight and easy to install without special equipment, yet are extremely robust and designed to spread load across panels to accommodate the stress of concert stages, equipment, and guests.
Having full jurisdiction over everything that happens on the field is critical to health and performance of the turf. Head Curator, Graeme Logan, recognized the advantages of owning the asset early on in the design process as the asset also affords the stadium full control over critical schedules which is especially important during the height of the sporting season. The ability to minimize the turf stress allows the venues to be converted quickly from concert back to game day with minimal disturbance, leveraging the opportunity to keep the venue utilized during non-game days, and bringing much more versatility to the operations.
The NSW stadiums purchased an integrated combination system consisting of both heavy-duty drivable panels and light-duty pedestrian panels as a means to more effectively manage their budget. Heavy-duty panels will be utilized under the staging areas and to build access roads into the venue for construction activities.
“We are very excited to be partnering with such an amazing group of professionals in the sports and entertainment industry. I look forward to being back in Australia in March to further support this new relationship. I invite interested parties to contact me directly for an introduction.” Nicole Andrews, Managing Director, Global Sales, Matrax Inc.
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