Vodafone Arena
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| Vodafone Arena | |
|---|---|
| Multi Purpose Venue | |
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| Location | Melbourne, Victoria |
| Opened | 2000 |
| Owner | Melbourne & Olympic Parks Trust |
| Operator | Melbourne & Olympic Parks Trust |
| Tenants | Australian Open (Tennis) South Dragons (NBL) (2006-present) Melbourne Vixens (ANZ Championship) (2008-preset) |
| Capacity | 10,500 |
Vodafone Arena is a sports venue that is part of the Melbourne Park complex, in Melbourne, Australia.
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[edit] History
Construction of Vodafone Arena commenced in the late 1990s, and was completed in 2000. It was originally named the Multi-purpose Venue, until the naming rights were sold to Vodafone, it has a maximum capacity of 11,000 people. The new South Dragons National Basketball League (NBL) franchise has recently made the Vodafone Arena its home court. Formerly, the Victoria Titans and Melbourne Tigers had Vodafone Arena as their home, until high rental prices forced the teams to find other venues. Until this recent move the venue was largely empty outside of the two weeks of the Australian Open tennis tournament.
The arena features a cycling track which is covered over with seating for court events. The tennis court is a Plexicushion surface and the roof is retractable, making it one of the few venues where tennis can be played while it is raining.
On May 12, 2008 it was announced that from July 1, 2008, Vodafone Arena will be renamed Hisense Arena in a multi-million dollar six year deal.
[edit] Events
[edit] Australian Open
Every year, Vodafone Arena hosts many matches as part of the Australian Open tennis tournament. It is generally used only during the day, in the first week and a half of the tournament.
[edit] Commonwealth Games
During the Commonwealth Games the stadium was used for basketball and other sports, its name changed to "Multi-Purpose Venue" because Telstra (a competitor of Vodafone) was a major sponsor of the Games.
[edit] Concerts
Vodafone Arena also plays hosts to National and International Musical Artists. Generally promoters prefer Rod Laver Arena, however Vodafone provides a suitable alternative when Rod Laver is unavailable. Acts have included:
- The Who
- Evanescence - The Open Door Tour 2007
- John Mayer - Continuum Tour 2007
- Fall Out Boy - March 2007
- Velvet Revolver
- Mötley Crüe - Red, White and Crue Tour December 2005
- Rock Star Supernova
- Good Charlotte - February 2005
- Planetshakers Conference - January 2006, 2007 and 2008
- Little Britain Live - January, February 2007
- Armin van Buuren - June 2007
- Antonis Remos & Sakis Rouvas - April 2008
- Slayer - March 2007
- Korn - April 2006
- Disturbed
- Motorhead
- Megadeath
- Seether
[edit] Upcoming Events
Upcoming events for Vodafone Arena in 2008.
- Sammi Cheng Show Mi Live in Australia 2008 - May 2
- Anthony Mundine v Sam Soliman - May 28
- Tattersall's IDSF Aust Dancesport & World Latin Champs - 8-14 December
[edit] External links
- Official site
- Vodafone Arena at Austadiums
- Vodafone Arena is at coordinates Coordinates:
