{"id":16842,"date":"2026-07-25T14:17:53","date_gmt":"2026-07-25T09:17:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=16842"},"modified":"2026-07-25T14:17:53","modified_gmt":"2026-07-25T09:17:53","slug":"sydneys-former-qudos-bank-arena-officially-reopens-as-afterpay-arena","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=16842","title":{"rendered":"Sydney&#8217;s Former Qudos Bank Arena Officially Reopens as Afterpay Arena"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\t<strong>Afterpay Arena <\/strong>\u2014 the Sydney venue formerly known as <a data-id=\"1235607253\" data-type=\"post\" href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/music\/rb-hip-hop\/sza-australia-new-zealand-arena-tour-1235607253\/\">Qudos Bank Arena <\/a>\u2014 officially opened on Thursday (July 23), marking the completion of a physical overhaul and the formal launch of the five-year naming rights partnership first announced in May.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tThe launch ceremony, held in the arena bowl, was attended by Afterpay co-founder <strong>Anthony Eisen, <\/strong>Afterpay VP APAC <strong>Mike Ryan,<\/strong> Legends Global COO for Asia Pacific and Middle East <strong>Peter Loxton<\/strong>, and Federal Shadow Assistant Minister for the Digital Economy <strong>Simon Kennedy.<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"injected-related-story \/\/ lrv-u-align-items-center u-align-items-flex-start@mobile-max  lrv-u-background-color-grey-lightest  lrv-u-flex lrv-u-flex-direction-column@mobile-max u-width-710@desktop lrv-u-margin-lr-auto lrv-u-margin-tb-1 u-margin-b-250@mobile-max u-margin-t-275@mobile-max u-margin-t-250@desktop u-margin-b-250@desktop u-margin-lr-n1@mobile-max lrv-u-border-b-1 lrv-u-border-color-brand-secondary-dark lrv-u-border-t-1 lrv-u-padding-tb-1  lrv-u-padding-tb-1@mobile-max lrv-u-padding-r-1@mobile-max lrv-u-padding-l-00@mobile-max u-grid-gap-18@desktop u-grid-gap-0@mobile-max\">\n<h3 id=\"title-of-a-story\" class=\"c-title  a-article-related-module-title a-article-related-module-title--color-brand-primary a-font-accent-xl u-font-weight-800 u-letter-spacing-0179 u-line-height-normal lrv-u-color-grey-dark bb-pro-related-stories-label lrv-u-text-transform-uppercase\">\n<p>\t\t\t\t\tRelated\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<div class=\"injected-related-story-wrapper lrv-u-flex lrv-u-justify-content-space-between  a-children-border-vertical a-children-border--grey a-children-border-width-050\">\n<div class=\"o-card  lrv-u-width-100p\">\n<div class=\"o-card__image-wrap lrv-u-flex-shrink-0 u-width-191 u-width-150@mobile-max\">\n<div class=\"c-lazy-image   lrv-u-margin-b-00@mobile-max u-width-130px@mobile-max lrv-u-margin-b-00@mobile-max\">\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/business\/legal\/chris-brown-pleads-guilty-lesser-charge-affray-london-assault-1236302428\/\" class=\"c-lazy-image__link lrv-a-unstyle-link\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"a-crop-6x4 a-crop-3x2@mobile-max\" style=\"\">\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<img class=\"c-lazy-image__img lrv-u-background-color-grey-lightest lrv-u-width-100p lrv-u-display-block lrv-u-height-auto\" src=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/P103R858-e1770246287956.jpg?w=237&amp;h=147&amp;crop=1\" alt=\"Chris Brown\" srcset=\"\" data-lazy-sizes=\"auto\" height=\"\" width=\"\" decoding=\"async\"\/><\/p><\/div>\n<p>\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tIt was the first time the fully transformed venue was presented under its new name, following months of interior redesign and technology integration.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tThe partnership, which runs through 2031, positions the venue as the first major entertainment destination in Australia to offer payment flexibility across the entire fan experience. Attendees can now split ticket purchases into four interest-free instalments via Afterpay Pay in 4, and use tap-to-pay for food, beverage and merchandise inside the venue, powered by 150 Square Registers and 65 Square Handheld devices \u2014 the first full Square commerce integration at a venue of this scale in Australia. <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tThe physical transformation includes a foyer uplift, two redesigned hospitality spaces, venue-wide wayfinding, and what the companies describe as one of the world\u2019s largest transparent holographic LED installations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\t\u201cAfterpay now has a permanent home in the place where fans come for the moments that matter most to them,\u201d Eisen said. \u201cWe\u2019ve built everything here around keeping fans in the moment \u2014 from the way they buy their ticket to the last song of the night.\u201d Loxton framed the deal as more than a signage play. \u201cThis partnership isn\u2019t just a name on a building,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s exactly the kind of engaged partner we want beside us for the next five years.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tThe venue draws approximately 1.1 million attendees annually and was named to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/pro\/top-music-venues-2025-billboard\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/pro\/top-music-venues-2025-billboard\/\">Billboard\u2019s Top 5 Live Music Venues in 2025.<\/a> Operated by Ticketek Entertainment Group and managed by Legends Global, the arena\u2019s naming rights move reflects a broader push by buy-now-pay-later operators into live entertainment, as promoters and venues increasingly position payment flexibility as a lever for driving attendance and per-head spend. <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tAfterpay-commissioned research cited by the company found that 94% of cost-affected event-goers have missed live events due to upfront payment barriers, while 74% said they would spend more at venues offering payment choice.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tAmong the first acts scheduled to play the transformed venue are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/artist\/tame-impala\/\">Tame Impala<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/artist\/j-cole\/\">J. Cole<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/artist\/khalid\/\">Khalid<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/artist\/laufey\/\">Laufey<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/artist\/robyn\/\">Robyn<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/artist\/olivia-dean\/\">Olivia Dean<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/artist\/zara-larsson\/\">Zara Larsson<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/artist\/hilary-duff\/\">Hilary Duff<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Afterpay Arena \u2014 the Sydney venue formerly known as Qudos Bank Arena \u2014 officially opened on Thursday (July 23), marking the completion of a physical overhaul and the formal launch of the five-year naming rights partnership first announced in May. The launch ceremony, held in the arena bowl, was attended by Afterpay co-founder Anthony Eisen,&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16843,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/VISION-AFTERPAY-ARENA-LAUNCH-DAY-1.jpg?w=1024","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16842","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-celebrity-gossip"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16842","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16842"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16842\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/16843"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16842"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16842"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16842"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}