The month commenced with a big reopening as Allianz Stadium staged its first major event following a A$874m (£482.8m/€550.9m/$586m) revamp, with the Sydney Roosters claiming a 26-16 NRL Premiership win at their new home over the South Sydney Rabbitohs.
A crowd of 41,906 watched on in what was a rugby league double-header, with the Roosters earlier securing a 34-6 women’s NRLW win over the St. George Illawarra Dragons. Work commenced in earnest on the construction of the new-look venue, otherwise known as Sydney Football Stadium, in August 2020.
There were other significant project completions as Snapdragon Stadium, the new home of San Diego State University’s American football team, staged its first game, and Kaunas City Municipality completed redevelopment work that made Darius and Girėnas Stadium the largest stadium in Lithuania.
Looking to the future, Leicester City’s plans to expand King Power Stadium to 40,000 seats were finally approved by the local authority, while Bradford Council spelled out plans to transform Odsal Stadium into the largest covered stadium in England, as part of ongoing efforts to revitalise the historic venue.
In the US, NFL franchise the Chicago Bears set out their vision for a new stadium at Arlington Heights, as San Diego City Council voted to select the Midway Rising team as the winning bid to transform the Californian city’s 48-acre sports arena site.
Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois released renderings of a design for a new 35,000-capacity stadium that will replace Ryan Field.
In the UK, Quintain, the developer and asset manager behind Wembley Park, completed the sale of London’s OVO Arena Wembley to fund manager Intermediate Capital Group.
