Optus Stadium has taken out the public vote as Australia’s Best Stadium at the 2021 Stadium Awards on Austadiums. 

The venue collected 29 per cent of the votes, ahead of the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG, 21 per cent of the vote) and CommBank Stadium (12 per cent). It also claimed the top gong for Best AFL Stadium following its overwhelming success as host of the 2021 Toyota AFL Grand Final.

The 60,000 seat stadium was the only multi-category winner in this year’s awards, and narrowly missed out on a trifecta, with Best Cricket Ground awarded to the MCG.

Optus Stadium had an action-packed 2021 line-up, hosting AFL’s spine-tingling Dreamtime game, the AFL Preliminary Finals campaign, the Bledisloe Cup, and the coveted 2021 Toyota AFL Grant Final.

Two additional VenuesWest venues received significant public support, with RAC Arena (27 per cent) coming in hot on the heels of Best Indoor Arena winner Rod Laver Arena (30 per cent).

HBF Park, which is set to host the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand, was voted third best A-League Stadium in Australia.

The results echo the 92 per cent satisfaction rate recorded across all VenuesWest venues during 2020-21. About 4.2 million people attended VenuesWest venues during the year.

Sport and Recreation Minister David Templeman said Optus Stadium had an incredible 2021, particularly with the hugely successful hosting of the Toyota AFL Grand Final in Perth for the first time.

“Western Australians know that we have a number of world-class venues, but these survey results are a great reminder for the rest of the country of the State’s capacity to host top-tier events and experiences that fans love.”