Staff at Queensland’s Suncorp Stadium will later today (Friday) face a race against time to convert the arena from NRL rugby league ground to a record-breaking boxing venue in just 24 hours.
Following the NRL game between the Broncos and the Storm tonight (Friday), the stadium – commonly known as Lang Park – will be transitioned to host Sunday afternoon’s ‘Battle of Brisbane’ WBO welterweight championship fight between Jeff Horn and Manny Pacquiao.
According to the Courier Mail website, staff will be working through the night and into the early hours of the morning to ensure that Suncorp Stadium is set up and ready to go by Saturday evening.
Despite the pressure of a fast turnaround, stadium spokesman Greg Adermann said the staff have done it all before and will have no trouble preparing for the highly anticipated bout.
“Straight after the game on Friday night, we’ll have staff working throughout the night,” Adermann said.
“Once the Broncos and Storm game finishes, our staff will swing into action. Our cleaning staff will no doubt have to clean, we’ll have to turn over signage, restock catering outlets, reset corporate boxes and suites, and our ground staff and security will work through the night.”
Suncorp record attendance
Suncorp’s turf needs to be protected from the boxing ring and on-ground seating because the State of Origin III rugby league championship is set to be played there 10 days later.
Goalposts will be removed, along with washing out logos and general field maintenance on Friday night, while the Saturday morning will include covering the ground with a protective flooring.
“We will have seats on the field so we lay down this flooring which is designed to protect the grass,” Adermann said.
“It will all be done by Saturday night and then Sunday morning, before gates open, they’ll just go through and do a final check and make sure everything is in place.”
Gates will open for the 1.30pm event at 8.30am and Adermann said Suncorp Stadium was encouraging everyone to arrive early to avoid long queues outside.
He also said fans and spectators should avoid bringing bags to the fight if they can, with security instructed to carry out bag checks on everyone who comes through the gates.
The Suncorp Stadium’s capacity will be increased to 60,000 for the fight. The additional capacity will come in the form of purpose-built floor seats that will surround the ring. The seats will be in addition to VIP and high-end ringside seats that had already been planned for the fight.
The stadium’s previous record attendance was 52,500 for the State of Origin rugby league match in 2015.
Image: Qld matt
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