Optus Stadium, designed by HASSELL, HKS and Cox Architecture, is in the running for the world’s Stadium of the Year.
This year’s candidates represent 11 countries, most heavily represented by Russia and Turkey, where seven and six modern stadiums were opened in 2018.
As for Australia, Optus Stadium is the first candidate since 2011, when Melbourne's AAMI Park was nominated and received 8th place.
The candidates can win two separate awards. The first is a public award chosen by internet users worldwide. Everyone is free to cast one vote until 07:00am on March 4, with the public encouraged to select their favourite five stadiums.
The second award is chosen by a jury of architects. The jury represents Great Britain (Robert Kennedy of Holmes Miller Architects), Italy (Gino Zavanella of GAU Arena) and Paraguay (Alfredo Angulo Quevedo).
If Optus Stadium succeeds in winning either of the two awards, it will not only be the first Australian stadium to win the prize but also the first ever oval. Thus far, the honour has gone solely to football stadiums such as Luzhniki (Moscow), Vodafone Park (Istanbul), London Stadium (London) and Estadio BBVA Bancomer (Monterrey).
Some of this year's candidates:
Mordovia Arena, Russia. Image: A. Schemetov, Sport Engineering
Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, Russia. Image: Sport Engineering
Volgograd Arena, Russia. Image: Sport Engineering
Zaozhuang Stadium. Image: Supplied
Click here to see the full list of candidates and to cast your vote.
