To be standing here in the change rooms and there is all the names of the players from both sides
Before the first ball is bowled in the Ashes series, Optus Stadium in Perth has opened its inner corridors to those who wish to understand not just the spectacle but the architecture of elite sport. Among the first to walk these halls as visitors were two brothers who once walked them as builders — a quiet reminder that the places we gather to witness greatness are themselves the product of years of unseen human effort. The Stadium Test Tour offers fans access to change rooms, practice facilities, and a sky-high vantage point, inviting a deeper relationship between a crowd and the ground it stands upon.
- Two British construction workers who spent four years building Optus Stadium found themselves standing inside the finished player change rooms — an emotional full-circle moment that few fans could ever replicate.
- The Stadium Test Tour runs for over an hour, threading visitors through team bunkers, indoor practice pitches, and corridors usually sealed from public view, turning a sporting venue into something you can truly inhabit.
- A 42-metre Sky View Deck offers a panoramic perspective that even match-day ticket holders will never experience from their seats, reframing the entire scale of the ground.
- With tours closing at 2pm Thursday — just before Australia and England take the field — the window is narrow, making this premium access a rare and time-sensitive addition to the Ashes experience in Perth.
Josh and Martin Reed spent four years watching Optus Stadium rise from bare earth. As part of the construction crew, they knew the venue's bones before its walls existed — so when the stadium opened exclusive behind-the-scenes tours ahead of the Ashes, the brothers were among the very first through the door, this time as visitors.
Standing in the player change rooms, Josh looked at the names of English and Australian cricketers already inscribed on the walls and felt the weight of what he'd helped build. "I worked on the construction site for four years and it's amazing to get down here and see it all finished off," he said. "This is something I didn't expect to do."
The Stadium Test Tour moves visitors through the pitch sideline, team bunker, and indoor practice facilities before culminating on the Sky View Deck — a vantage point 42 metres above the field that reframes the entire ground. It's the kind of access that transforms a stadium from a place you watch sport into a place you genuinely understand.
Martin, who had visited Suncorp and venues across the UK, found himself struck by what Perth had produced. "I've got my tickets booked for the game but this tour is nearly as exciting," he said. "The design of this place is something else." That verdict carries particular weight from someone who knows exactly what went into making it work.
The tours run only until 2pm Thursday — a narrow window before the first Ashes ball is bowled. For fans already holding match tickets, it offers something the broadcast and the live experience cannot: the chance to stand where players prepare, and to see the stage before the performance begins.
Josh and Martin Reed spent four years watching Optus Stadium rise from the ground up. They were there during the construction phase, part of the crew that helped transform a patch of Perth into what would become one of Australia's most ambitious sporting venues. So when the stadium opened its doors for exclusive behind-the-scenes tours ahead of the Ashes series, the brothers found themselves among the first to walk through as visitors rather than workers.
The experience hit differently when you've seen the bones of a place before the walls went up. Josh stood in the player change rooms, looking at the names of English and Australian cricketers already inscribed on the walls, and felt something shift. "I worked on the construction site for four years and it's amazing to get down here and see it all finished off," he said. "To be standing here in the change rooms and there is all the names of the players from both sides — this is something I didn't expect to do."
Optus Stadium's new tour offering, called The Stadium Test Tour, doesn't skimp on access. The experience stretches beyond an hour, moving visitors from the pitch sideline through the team bunker and into the indoor practice facilities. The route culminates on the Sky View Deck, a vantage point suspended 42 meters above the field that offers a perspective most fans will never have during an actual match. It's the kind of behind-the-scenes access that transforms a venue from a place you watch cricket into a place you understand.
Martin, Josh's brother, had visited other major stadiums — Suncorp in Brisbane, venues across the United Kingdom — but found himself struck by what Perth had built. "I've got my tickets booked for the game but this tour is nearly as exciting," he said. "I have been to games at many venues but the design of this place is something else." There's a particular satisfaction in that assessment coming from someone who literally helped construct it, who knows what went into making those sight lines work, those corridors flow, those facilities function at the level required for international cricket.
The timing matters. These tours run until 2pm on Thursday, a narrow window before Australia and England take the field for the first Ashes clash. For fans who've already secured tickets to the match itself, the tour offers something the broadcast and the live experience cannot: a complete spatial understanding of the stadium, the chance to stand where players prepare, to see the infrastructure that makes elite sport possible. It's the difference between watching a performance and understanding the stage.
Notable Quotes
I worked on the construction site for four years and it's amazing to get down here and see it all finished off.— Josh Reed
I've got my tickets booked for the game but this tour is nearly as exciting.— Martin Reed
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does it matter that these two brothers were construction workers? Couldn't any fans have done this tour?
Because they built the place. They know what was supposed to happen in those spaces. Walking through as a visitor after years of construction work is a completely different experience — you're seeing your labor finished, transformed into something that works.
The tour is only running until 2pm Thursday. That's a very tight window.
It is. The Ashes match starts soon after, so this is really a last chance for fans to get this access before the stadium becomes fully operational in its primary role. It's exclusive partly because of timing.
Martin mentions he's been to Suncorp and UK venues. What's different about Optus?
He specifically called out the design. Without seeing the source material on what makes it different, I can only say that something about how this stadium is laid out — the sight lines, the flow, the way it's organized — struck him as superior to other places he's experienced.
Is this tour experience something that will continue after the Ashes?
The source doesn't say. It only confirms tours are running until Thursday at 2pm. Whether they become a permanent offering or were a one-time pre-match event isn't clear.
What does a 42-meter Sky View Deck actually show you?
A complete panoramic view of the field and the entire stadium structure from above. It's the kind of perspective you can't get from a seat during a match — you're seeing the whole organism at once, understanding how all the pieces fit together.