Suncorp Stadium, Australia's newest major sporting venue, has passed its first full
operational test with flying colours.
More than 46,000 patrons attended yesterday's first event, the NRL Round 12
blockbuster between the Ergon Energy Broncos and the Newcastle Knights.
Suncorp Stadium Chief Executive Officer, Geoff Donaghy said any major new
facility experienced teething problems, and "we're no exception".
"Given we only took possession of the Stadium on Thursday night, we undertook
commissioning, testing and preparation - normally a two month operation - in two
days."
"So this first event had to be treated as a dress rehearsal to identify teething problems
and flush out all the glitches."
"While we know we didn't get everything right, people from the Premier and Minister
Mackenroth to the several hundred patrons I spoke to on the day and since are giving
us at least a 9 out of 10."
Mr Donaghy said the feedback generally had been "
overwhelmingly positive".
"The final statistics are not in, but preliminary indications are that at least 86 percent
of patrons used public transport to get to and from the Stadium. This is an amazing
change in the travel habits of Brisbane sport fans."
"We will be conducting extensive debriefings during the week with Police, transport
authorities and local community groups, to identify and respond to all issues from the
day."
"We then have 10 days to fine-tune our operations and transport arrangements before
our next major test, the first State of Origin match before a sellout crowd of 52,500"
Mr Donaghy said.
2 June 2003
For further information, contact Greg Adermann, Suncorp Stadium
Communications Manager on 07 3331 5162