An awards ceremony was held in Manchester, United Kingdom on Thursday 6th June to determine the Sports Event of the Year Award for the Stadium Business Awards 2013.
The finalists were:
- Super Bowl XLVI – Lucas Oil Stadium, USA
- Biathlon WTC – Veltins Arena, Germany
- 100th Test – Sydney Cricket Ground
- NBA All-Star 2012 – Amway Center/Orlando Magic, USA
- Emerald Isle Classic: Navy v Notre Dame – Aviva Stadium, Ireland
- ‘Super Saturday’ at the London 2012 Olympic Games (Day 8), UK
- Opening game of EURO 2012 – National Stadium, Poland
The winner was the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Chairman of the Sydney Cricket Ground Trust, Rodney Cavalier made the following comments:
Given the quality of the other events in the final list, it is quite a remarkable outcome for any Australian venue, up against the giants of Europe and North America, given the SCG was hosting a sport that has limited following in the world.
A major event like a Test is almost a year in planning, months of serious effort and weeks of attention to the detail. The Award is given for what happens off the field – back of house, ticketing, looking after the crowds, making everyone feel welcome. Each of these services, you might say, is an SCG speciality.
Credit belongs in the first instance to all of the staff of the Ground. I do not restrict my acknowledgement to those who were on duty during the hours of the Test Match but to everyone who was on staff at the time and who contributed to making the occasion work. A ground has to be humming for an event to come together.
The second element in success is the enthusiasm of the members and the public. The crowds who come to the SCG enjoy being there. They come from all over Sydney, from all over NSW and Australia, and from overseas. The Test Match at the Sydney Cricket Ground is one of the great rituals of Australian sport and world cricket.
It is an honour to be associated with this award.
