Record Breaking Winter of Major Events in Sydney

>> BARRY O'FARRELL: Last night's Manchester United Australian All Stars team sees the continuation of the biggest season of sport in this state since the 2000 Olympics. >> BARRY O'FARRELL: 450,000 tickets sold to State of Origin, the Lions, the Socceroos and Manchester United is all about not just providing great spectacles in this city but also growing employment. >> BARRY O'FARRELL: An estimated 40,000 people have come to this city from interstate and overseas. >> BARRY O'FARRELL: That's creating jobs in Sydney and in New South Wales. >> BARRY O'FARRELL: We've seen revenues in accommodation hotels up 27% over the past month compared to last year. >> BARRY O'FARRELL: It's estimated that the 450,000 tickets at this spectacle of major events, the biggest since the Olympics, has injected $100 million into the NSW economy. >> GEORGE SOURIS: And indeed the region's benefited too, particularly the Hunter Valley, the Central Coast, the Blue Mountains area. >> GEORGE SOURIS: They toured, they spent and they attended our major fixtures; in combination a great economic boost for the people of NSW and indeed for the sports themselves in the development of those sports within NSW. >> KEN MORRISON: Very simply this is all about jobs. So the tourism sector already employs 160,000 people across 95,000 businesses contributing more than $26 billion to the NSW economy. >> KEN MORRISON: Events like what you've seen over the last month just pump more money into our economy, support jobs and help grow businesses right across the state, particularly here in Sydney where these events are held. >> KEN MORRISON: What we're seeing is Sydney becoming a year-round event city and that's fantastic for jobs in NSW.