Using a screenshot from Google Maps, here is a quick guide to your gate. Check your ticket and see which gate is yours.
Assuming you’re not crazy and you’re arriving by free bus or train, you will typically arrive at gates A to F first, and this is where the majority of the fun stuff is for the kids, where you can get a prepaid visa card, and there are activations by the sponsors.
From there, you will need to walk around the stadium to find your gate, noting that if you’re at Gate P, it’s best to turn left! I didn’t see a Gate I, but that’s probably because it looks like a 1, although they have no problem with having a Gate O. Here’s your gates in all their glory :
Some points to note – there are areas where flags and banners are checked for size and suitability. There are ticket resolution windows, four of them in total, so if you get stuck with your digital ticket, join the line and you’ll get help. There is no exclusion zone around the stadium, as far as I could see, so the security check happens at the gate, and there are signs suggesting that everyone will be checked with a ‘wand’ – so pockets emptied while a trained volunteer dances a light sabre around your body.
There are some quirky things to see – firstly, each of the futuristic light poles has a plaque from an Olympic games from the past, prior to the 2000 games. Secondly, there are a series of poles next to Gate A which have the names of all the volunteers who helped out at Sydney 2000. See if you can find your name even if it’s not you! Plenty of eating options, fast food outlets and bars next to the station and the hotels near Gate A. They will be booked out, and the bar at the Novotel is traditionally the place to party.
My suggestion is to get to Stadium Australia early. Kick off is at 8pm, get there at least an hour in advance; as we know, people tend to spill out of the bars right before kick off and that’s when the queues will be at their fiercest! Let’s get the party started inside. That’s all. Hope this helps, and this is in no way official information.