Afterpay puts its name on Sydney’s biggest indoor arena

Type: Branding – five-year arena naming rights partnership with integrated payments and fan experience activation
Sport: Multi-sport / Arena Naming Rights
Announced: July 2026

Afterpay has officially launched Afterpay Arena in Sydney, turning a five-year naming rights deal announced in May into a live payments ecosystem spanning tickets, food, drinks and merchandise across one of Australia’s biggest sports and entertainment venues.

• The deal was first announced in May, when Afterpay confirmed that Qudos Bank Arena would become Afterpay Arena under a five-year partnership running through 2031. After months of new signage, interior redesign and payment infrastructure work, the new identity officially went live on July 23. The venue had operated as Qudos Bank Arena for the previous ten years.

• The name on the building is only one layer of the partnership. Afterpay and parent company Block are embedding their payments ecosystem across the fan journey: Afterpay Pay in 4 gives fans the option to split ticket purchases into four interest-free instalments, while Square provides the integrated payments and POS infrastructure across food, beverage and merchandise transactions. At launch, the venue also introduced tap-to-pay with Afterpay for in-venue purchases.
• That gives Afterpay a physical showcase for its product in a venue attracting more than 1.1 million visitors annually. The arena has hosted major sporting events alongside some of the world's biggest music acts, and sold its 15 millionth ticket during Linkin Park's 2026 world tour. Its first event under the Afterpay Arena name is the Tim Tszyu boxing fight on July 26.
• The strategy is particularly interesting because Afterpay is using naming rights to influence the transaction itself. Research commissioned by the company found that 58% of Australian consumers surveyed said flexible payment options would make them more likely to attend events, while 74% said they would spend more at venues offering payment choice. That puts Afterpay at both ends of the fan spend journey: helping finance entry into the venue and powering purchases once fans are inside.
• Afterpay co-founder Anthony Eisen described the arena as a “permanent home” for the brand and said the experience had been designed around keeping fans in the moment, from buying a ticket through to the end of an event.
• For a fintech, that makes the five-year deal much more than continuous brand exposure: the arena becomes a live environment where millions of consumers can encounter and use its payments products.