The Sydney Olympic Park Authority manages the public places and spaces at Sydney Olympic Park. These places include just over 500-hectares of the 640-hectare site. The Authority has a 'place management' division that is charged with the responsibility for day-to-day management of the public places. This involves the delivery of public tours, events, excursions and programs; the protection of ecosystems, heritage and environment; the conservation of energy, resources, species and habitat; the maintenance and replacement of buildings, facilities and landscape assets; the provision of a safe and secure public domain; organisation of traffic, transport and people movement; monitoring of visitation and enhancement of the visitor experience; and generally coordinating the use and operation of the site.
The concept of Place Management was introduced to Sydney Olympic Park in September 2003 to facilitate a seamless organisational approach to the care, control and management of the public arenas at the Park - to enhance operational focus and accountability; minimise duplication or wastage; achieve economies of scale; and enhance the quality of visitor experience. All major works, programs, services, elements, and issues associated with Sydney Olympic Park being managed by a single integrated unit, Place Management, that (within legal and financial constraints) focuses primarily on achieving stakeholder outcomes.
All of the venues at the Park are managed by private operators either in their own right or on behalf of the Authority. The Authority's place management function does not generally undertake works or services or deliver programs or services within venues, however the strong physical connection between the venues and the public domain is reflected in the working relationships between venue management and activities and those of the place management division.
The 'Township' refers to the urban parts of Sydney Olympic Park that extend for 191-hectares and include all of the major sporting and entertainment venues used for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, the various commercial premises and the railway station. Just over 100-hectares is occupied by the various venues, while the balance is public places and spaces comprised of roads, plaza, gardens, water features, artworks, transport nodes, car parks and treescapes.
There are three key documents that guide the place management of the Township at this time. They are the SOPA Act (2001) which sets out the broad framework in terms of objectives and principles for Sydney Olympic Park; the SOPA Regulations (2004) which defines the regulatory framework within in which various uses and activities are authorised or constrained; and a draft non-statutory 'Event Town' Plan of Management that sets out a scheme of operations with policy and guidelines to guide use and change of the place at an operational and development level - with the objective of protecting the capability of the Township to continue to support major events well into the future as the township evolves and develops.
The 'Parklands' refers to the non-urban parts of Sydney Olympic Park that extend for 425-hectares and comprise a range of different places and spaces including saltwater and freshwater wetlands; saltmarsh; mangrove forests; sportsfields; urban parks; an abandoned brickpit; the former RAN Armaments depot; naturalistic woodlands and grasslands; remnant Ironbark - Turpentine Woodland; and tidal creeks. Within this array of different settings there are many educational, sporting, leisure and health opportunities supported by pathways, playgrounds, bike tracks, picnic facilities, viewing areas, and several natural attractions.
There are three key documents that guide the place management of the parklands at this time. They are the SOPA Act (2001); the SOPA Regulations (2004); and the statutory Parklands Plan of Management (2003) that sets out the scheme of operations with policy and procedures to direct the proper care, use and change of the place at an operational and development level - with the objective of protecting the sustainability of the parklands in perpetuity for future generations to experience. There is also the conceptual plan for the parklands which is set out in Parklands 2020. This document is a useful reference point for understanding the vision and direction imagined for the parklands in the longer term and is an update on the original Parkland Concept Plan prepared in 1998.