A new esports stadium in Perth, Australia has been included as part of a new A$1.5bn (£856m/€922m/$1.1bn) development plan between the Commonwealth Government, Western Australian Government and City of Perth.
The Perth City Deal has allocated A$360m of investment from the State Government, Curtin University and Murdoch University to expand or establish new presences in the central business district of the city.
Murdoch University, which is a public university with campuses also in Singapore and Dubai, will use the funds to create a vertical campus and esports stadium linked with Singapore and East Asia. The university’s largest club is Murdoch Esports with over 300 registered members yearly.
As part of the new billion-dollar partnership, up to A$100m will be used to redevelop the famous Western Australia Cricket Association (WACA) Ground and transform it into a state-of-the-art sporting facility including an inner city swimming pool.
This follows last month’s news that the state government committed A$30m in funding towards the transformation of the WACA Ground into a 10,000-seat “boutique venue”. The WACA currently has a capacity of 20,000 and has long been referred to Western Australia’s “home of cricket”. At the time, it was said that the federal government had also committed A$30m towards the project, while Cricket Australia will provide A$4m and the WACA will raise a further A$10m through the WA Cricket Foundation.
Chair commissioner for Perth, Andrew Hammond, said the City of Perth welcomes the investment as a “transformative landmark deal between all three tiers of government.”
He added: “The City’s commitment includes A$25m toward the redevelopment of the iconic WACA, specifically funding the addition of a community aquatic facility, and A$10m toward the CBD Transport Plan to upgrade Roe Street and facilitate regeneration of the area.
“We look forward to working in partnership with the Federal and State Government and the wider community to bring the Perth City Deal to fruition and secure the future prosperity and liveability of our great city.”
The Perth investment project will also see A$42m go towards developing the 1,729-capacity Perth Concert Hall into a premier music venue, while A$20m will be allocated to the Perth Cultural Centre precinct to provide immediate improvements in lighting, security, wayfinding and environment.
Under the plan, the City Deal is looking to bring in more than 25,000 students and staff to the city and the construction of the campuses will bring over $1bn of investment to Perth. It is estimated this will create more than 4,100 construction jobs and nearly 1,000 ongoing direct jobs.
The plan also includes A$695m investment to move Edith Cowan University’s law and business schools, along with the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts into the Perth CBD, as well as A$105m allocated to the Perth CBD Transport Plan to upgrade cycling and walking infrastructure, bus stop accessibility upgrades and enhance Roe Street. The centrepiece of this plan is the new Swan River Causeway Bridge.
It is also providing funding towards the creation of an Australian Space Robotics, Automation, and AI Command Control Complex, as well as support for the city’s homeless population.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said: “This is a JobMaker investment which will generate employment for thousands of hard-working West Australians, it will boost those businesses that are already in the CBD and it will drive new businesses to open.
“WA, like the rest of Australia, needs a targeted economic stimulus which will provide a boost now and into the future, and this is what we’re delivering.”
Image: Murdoch Univeristy
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