Local returns to manage Perth Arena

MEDIA RELEASE COURTESY OF: AEG Ogden

A Western Australian with more than 25 years experience in the venue management industry will be returning home soon to manage the new Perth Arena.

He is David Humphreys who has been the General Manager of Acer Arena (formerly known as Sydney SuperDome) since 2000.

Mr Humphreys' appointment as the inaugural General Manager of Perth Arena was announced today by Harvey Lister, the Chairman and CEO of AEG Ogden, which was recently named by VenuesWest as its preferred operator of the venue.

Mr Lister said Mr Humphreys "jumped at the chance" to return home to take responsibility for opening the new $500 million venue.

"While David will be missed in Sydney, this was too good an opportunity for him to pass up. David knows the local scene better than most, having managed the old Perth Entertainment Centre for many years before being headhunted to run the Sydney SuperDome.

"His many years in the industry stands him in good stead to commence planning for the opening of the venue and developing a very strong events schedule going forward,” he said.

Mr Lister said while AEG Ogden was still finalising the contractual details of its management agreement with VenuesWest, it was important to move now in assembling the best possible management team for the Perth Arena. Further announcements about that team will be made over the coming months.

He said Mr Humphreys would commence his role in early 2011 after taking some well earned leave. The Perth Arena is expected to open in 2012.

His replacement at Acer Arena, which is also managed by AEG Ogden, is expected to be announced in the near future.

VenuesWest Chairman Graham Partridge said his team were already working closely with AEG Ogden and were very pleased that they were progressing their planning with this announcement of an experienced member of the executive team.

About AEG Ogden

AEG Ogden is a joint venture between Australian interests and AEG Facilities of the United States.

AEG Ogden manages a range of arenas, convention centres and stadia in the Asia Pacific region including Acer Arena in Sydney, the Brisbane Entertainment Centre, the Newcastle Entertainment Centre, the Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin and Kuala Lumpur Convention Centres, the Qatar National Convention Centre (currently under construction), Suncorp Stadium in Queensland and the four State Theatres in Perth. For more information, please click here.

AEG Facilities is a stand-alone affiliate of AEG which owns, operates or consults with more than 90 of the industry's pre-eminent venues worldwide, across five continents. It is also one of the world’s largest promoters of live entertainment and a leading owner of professional sports franchises.

About Perth Arena

The new Perth Arena will be an iconic building for the people of Perth and Western Australia, attracting more entertainment, sporting and cultural events to Perth and bringing in new visitors. Sitting within the new Northbridge Link precinct, the Perth Arena will form an integral part of Perth’s new revitalisation.

When it is opened in 2012, the Arena will bring to Western Australia a new raft of entertainment acts that will perform in a space the quality of which has not been experienced before in Perth, with capacity for up to 15,000 for concerts.

The Perth Arena has been designed to maximise flexibility and will have a curtaining system in the auditorium reduce the seating mode as required to allow events with between 4,000 and- 8,000 patrons to be staged. The Arena will hold 14,500 boxing fans, possible basketball matches, international netball, martial arts tournaments, and national indoor sports championships

The Arena will also host the Hyundai Hopman Cup, which will benefit from the retractable roof (providing Australian Open conditions for players), Plexipave court surfacing, stunning corporate suites and function areas, comfortable spectator seating and ample green room space for players.

The Arena will employ 30-35 full time staff and generate casual employment for over 500 casual event staff including catering staff, ushers, ticketing, security, cleaners and backstage operations staff.

The Government of Western Australia has vested the ownership of the Perth Arena in VenuesWest. They in turn conducted a worldwide search prior to selecting AEG Ogden as its preferred operator. For further information click here.