Sydney/Sydney Olympic Park



Sydney Olympic Park is an area 15 km west of Sydney CBD. It is on the western reaches of Sydney Harbour, and was the home of the 2000 Olympic Games.

The Sydney Olympic Park area, together with the surrounding areas on the Parramatta River including the neighbouring suburbs of Newington and Wentworth Point, host a wide variety of sporting events, including athletics, aquatic, archery, Australian rules football, cricket, soccer, tennis, hockey, rugby (both union and league), skateboarding and more. It is also home to open spaces and parks such as Bicentennial Park, Newington Armoury, Wentworth Common, Blaxland Riverside Park, Woo-La-Ra and Wilson Park.

The venues are also used for conferences, and music and family events, including the Royal Easter Show in April. When there are no events on, the area around the station and the main venues are very quiet. At 6PM most evenings, you can have Olympic Boulevard largely to yourself.

Access to the area and to the parklands is free, although parking can be expensive and difficult to find. The area was specifically designed to not be a car-centric hellhole; the authorities do whatever they can do discourage you from bringing your car in, but it may be your only choice when the trains network is lopsided.

For the purposes of this article, this article covers Sydney Olympic Park, Wentworth Point, Newington, parts of northern Homebush (around DFO) and Rhodes.

By train
Olympic Park is accessible through its own. Most of the time, you'll need to travel to Lidcombe station and transfer to the T7 Olympic Park Line (Olympic Park sprint) at Platform 0. Trains leave Lidcombe Station every 10 minutes, but frequencies may change during trackwork weekends. During major events, direct trains to Olympic Park also run from Central, Redfern, Strathfield and Parramatta stations, and sometimes also from other locations. Olympic Park station is wheelchair accessible.

Some parts of Sydney Olympic Park – Bicentennial Park in particular – are actually closer to, although still within easy walking distance of Olympic Park station. During major events, travellers from the north may be encouraged to use Concord West rather than Olympic Park even for central events. Concord West is wheelchair accessible.

As part of the Sydney Metro West, new rapid transit line being built between Westmead and Hunter St (opp. Wynyard and Martin Pl) via Parramatta and North Strathfield, there will be a new station in Sydney Olympic Park. It initially had an opening date of 2030 but has since been slated to 2032.

By bus
Sydney buses provide regular services from Strathfield and Rhodes stations by the route 525, 526 and 533 buses. Parramatta station has route 525 and Chatswood station has route 533.

Unless you are already at a bus departure point, the train will usually be quicker.

For major events, like sporting events, and the Easter Show, the major event bus service operates, providing frequent event buses from most corners of Sydney. For smaller events, like football matches, a handful of buses may run to a timetable on the major event bus routes.

By ferry
in Wentworth Point, operated by Transport for New South Wales, is on the Parramatta River and is usually served with the F3 Parramatta River line with ferries from Parramatta, Barangaroo and Circular Quay among other locations. The wharf, which was used for the Olympic Torch journey to the stadium, is around 2 km from the Olympic Stadium area and other attractions served by the Railway Station, but is much closer to the Millennium Parklands, Newington Armoury and many of the area's cycling tracks.

By car

 * Travel from Sydney City follow A4 Western Distributor/Anzac Bridge and into the WestConnex toll tunnel at M4 Western Motorway. Take the Sydney Olympic Park exit after the end of the tunnel.
 * Homebush Bay Drive (A3) and Parramatta Rd (A44) both pass Sydney Olympic Park. Follow either of these A roads, and follow the signs to Sydney Olympic Park.

Major event parking is available in large multi-story car parks for $25. Parking in the multi-storey carparks at other times is on a sliding scale up to $25. There is often free parking available at the aquatic centre if there are no major events on at the time. There is free parking in Bicentennial Park during the day, limited to 4 hours on weekdays. Traffic can be heavy during major events, but parking is usually available for all but the most major events. Check the Sydney Olympic Park website for details of parking and activities.

By bike
Several of Sydney's cycle routes converge on Sydney Olympic Park. The Cooks River Cycleway from Botany Bay. The Parramatta Valley Cycleway is linked by a cycle bridge over the Parramatta River linking Rhodes and Meadowbank (and on through Bicentennial Park). Cycling around when you get there is easy, with many paths and bicycle parking provided.

Get around
The train station and bus stops are within easy walking distance of the arenas, Olympic Boulevard, Bicentennial Park, and the Aquatic Centre. There are bike hire centres in Bicentennial and Blaxland Parks.

Light rail is also planned for Sydney Olympic Park as part of Stage 2 of Parramatta Light Rail. LRT will connect most stadiums (inc. the station) and Wentworth Point, which will eventually be headed towards Parramatta Square. Construction started in 2023 and is expected to open in 2031.

Park venues
Locals usually go to Sydney Olympic Park to see events such as sporting matches, music acts, or conventions. They are held at one of the following venues. Some venues may have tours.



Other venues include the Quaycentre (a multipurpose hall), Athletic Centre, Hockey Centre, Archery Park and the Sports Centre.

Parks

 * . Other parks in the area include, and
 * . Other parks in the area include, and

Buy
Shopping opportunities are limited within Sydney Olympic Park. But there are a number of small shops and convenience stores around the park. Other shopping centres and local supermarkets can be found in Newington, Wentworth Point, Rhodes or Lidcombe.



Near Olympic Boulevard and the Arenas
In the way of fast food, there is a McDonald's, Subway, Oporto's and a Gloria Jeans coffee shop in the stadium area, and not much else. Gloria Jeans has seating and a courtyard area often not crowded when there are queues at the other fast food places. These can close before some evening events finish. The Brewery serves food until a bit later.



Bicentennial Park
There is a kiosk in Bicentennial Park, near the kids playground, but it is only open for lunch. Good for ice-creams on a hot day.



Drink
There is not much nightlife to speak of on non-event days. On event days, the atmosphere changes - depending on who and what is playing.



Sleep
A wide range of local accommodation options are available within the precinct. Availability varies on what events are happening, but expect the 2 weeks that The Sydney Royal Easter show to run to be booked out in advance (sometime in March-April), and major concerts & sporting events to be also booked out.

Connect
There are some free public Wi-Fi spots about in the event precinct. The area is also well covered by normal telco providers.

Go next
If you are staying at Sydney Olympic Park, you are about equidistant from Sydney City and Parramatta. Stay on the M4 Western Motorway past Parramatta, and in 90 minutes or so you could be in the Blue Mountains.