Afterpay has secured the naming rights to Sydney's Qudos Bank Arena, which will be renamed Afterpay Arena under an initial five-year deal.
The partnership links the buy-now-pay-later provider with one of Australia's largest indoor entertainment venues. The arena attracts more than 1.1 million people a year and was ranked among the world's top five live music venues by Billboard in 2025.
Under the deal, Afterpay will be available for ticket purchases, while Square, also part of Block, will handle food, beverage and merchandise payments inside the venue. The aim is to provide payment options from booking through to spending on the night.
Located in Sydney Olympic Park, the venue has hosted concerts, sport, comedy, family shows and cultural events since opening in 1999 with Luciano Pavarotti. Recent acts include Billie Eilish, Rüfüs Du Sol and TWICE.
New signage and interior changes are under way as part of the rebrand. Until the transition is complete, the venue will continue trading as Qudos Bank Arena and maintain its scheduled events programme.
Research commissioned by Afterpay found that upfront cost remains a barrier for many entertainment customers. In a Qualtrics survey of 902 Australian adults, 94% of cost-affected event-goers said they had missed events because of upfront payment barriers, while 58% said they would be more likely to attend if flexible payment options were available.
The same research found 74% of consumers would spend more at venues that offer payment choice. The figures suggest a commercial incentive for operators looking to lift attendance and in-venue spending as households remain sensitive to discretionary costs.
For Block, the parent company of Afterpay and Square, the deal brings two parts of its business together in a high-profile consumer setting. Ticketing will use Afterpay's pay-in-four model, while point-of-sale transactions inside the arena will run through Square's payments and retail systems.
Nick Molnar, co-founder and chief executive officer of Afterpay, said the arrangement was designed to remove friction from attending live events.
"Live experiences are one of the more meaningful ways people choose to spend their time. We wanted to be the brand that makes sure nothing gets in the way of that," Molnar said.
He said the partnership extended beyond ticketing.
"What we've built here is genuinely end-to-end - the flexibility starts when you buy your ticket and carries through to fans' meal and a piece of merch on the night. Square's technology makes every transaction as fast as possible, because every second you're standing in line for merch is a second you're not in the moment you came for," he said.
Venue strategy
The arena is leased by TEG and operated by Legends Global in Asia Pacific and the Middle East. It sold its 15 millionth ticket during Linkin Park's Tour 2026 World Tour, underlining its scale in the Australian live entertainment market.
Harvey Lister AM, president and chief executive of Legends Global in Asia Pacific and the Middle East, said the partnership reflected a shift in how fans pay for entertainment.
"We are obsessed with enhancing the guest experience at every interaction, and we know Afterpay's popularity with Australian audiences means they now have another option to secure tickets," Lister said.
He said the agreement represented a broader investment in the sector.
"More than 1.1 million people walk through this arena's doors every year, and this partnership represents a significant evolution in how Australians access live entertainment. Afterpay's five-year commitment is a genuine investment in Australian culture and in every single one of those fans," he said.
Consumer spending
The tie-up comes as entertainment businesses look for ways to preserve attendance while consumers remain cautious about large upfront purchases. Buy-now-pay-later services are common in retail, but their use in live events and venue spending is less established in Australia.
The arena partnership will test whether instalment payments can widen access to concerts and other events without changing the core venue offer. It also gives Afterpay a prominent physical presence in a category where spending is often emotional, discretionary and tied to major touring acts.
For the arena, the arrangement offers a new revenue and branding partnership at a time when venues are competing for consumer spending beyond the ticket itself. Food, drink and merchandise sales are important to venue economics, and integrated payments may help reduce queues and support higher in-venue spend.
The five-year agreement runs to 2031. The arena remains the largest indoor venue in the region and one of the country's best-known sites for major touring productions.