Heritage Bank Stadium will be the new home of the Gold Coast SUNS from 2023.
One of Australia’s largest customer-owned and longest-standing financial institutions has today been unveiled as the new face of the Gold Coast’s most exciting venue.
The Queensland-based organisation has been a mainstay in the local community since 1875, expanding in recent times to develop a nationwide customer base, with branches in Queensland and New South Wales.
Heritage Bank Stadium will become synonymous with audiences on the Gold Coast, throughout Queensland and across Australia, with a wide range of events set to take the venue by storm in the next 12 months.
Grammy Award-winning artist Harry Styles will kick things off on Tuesday February 28, 2023, with P!NK set to bring Heritage Bank Stadium to life in February 2024. GC SUNS AFL & AFLW matches, national and international cricket as well as a host of large-scale community events will all call the venue home.
Heritage Bank will also use the community asset as a focal point to give back to the people that support them. Being a member-owned bank, the focus is always on giving back, just as it is at the Gold Coast SUNS.
CEO Peter Lock said launching the Heritage Bank Stadium name would help propel the brand further onto the national stage ahead of the bank’s imminent merger with People’s Choice Credit Union on March 1.
That merger will create Australia’s leading mutual banking institution, a genuine national, customer-owned alternative to the big banks.
“Naming this complex the Heritage Bank Stadium name will provide us with incredible national exposure, as well as providing a platform to engage with and support the community of the wider Gold Coast region,” Mr Lock said.
“This facility is much more than a sporting stadium. It’s an important community facility that plays an integral role in the region’s social fabric. We’ll be looking to maximise those community benefits throughout our partnership.
“As a mutual bank, we will be offering people around Australia the chance to switch to a genuinely customer-centric alternative, one that doesn’t put the pursuit of profit ahead of customer service.”
Gold Coast SUNS Chief Executive Mark Evans said the club was delighted to welcome Heritage Bank into the family and commented on the many parallels the two organisations hold.
“Today marks a historic occasion for our football club, to be able to partner with Heritage Bank to help them give back to their members and the people of Queensland,” Gold Coast SUNS Chief Executive Mark Evans.
“Heritage Bank Stadium is a community asset, it’s for the people of the Gold Coast and alongside Heritage Bank, we will continue to strive to bring engaging and diverse content to the region, for its people.
“We are a community-focussed club with a commitment to our members, just like Heritage Bank, so we are thrilled to be able to partner with an organisation that shares the same values as we do.”
Queensland Tourism and Sport Minister Stirling Hinchliffe welcomed the SUNS – Heritage Bank partnership.
“This is a union that kicks goals for sport and tourism on the Gold Coast,” Mr Hinchliffe said.
“When visitors travel to the Gold Coast for world-class stadium sport and entertainment experiences, they support good local jobs and a vibrant visitor economy.”
City of Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate said, "I welcome Heritage Bank’s investment in our city, but more importantly in our community.
“Heritage Bank Stadium is home to our fantastic Gold Coast SUNS who will only shine brighter with this new partnership, both on and off the field.
“Thanks to the community-focus of The SUNS, and Heritage Bank Stadium as a key piece of community infrastructure, I believe we are on track to see tens of thousands of more community volunteering hours and tens of millions of dollars coming out of this partnership and into the Gold Coast.”