Melbourne Multi Purpose Venue

Hisense Arena
Melbourne Multi-Purpose Venue
Hisense Arena in use during the 2006 Australian Open
Former names	Vodafone Arena (until 2008), Melbourne Multi-Purpose Venue
Location	Melbourne, Victoria
Coordinates	37°49′22″S 144°58′54″E
Opened	2000
Owner	Melbourne & Olympic Parks Trust
Operator	Melbourne & Olympic Parks Trust
Construction cost	A$ 65 million
Architect	Peddle Thorp
Capacity	10,500
Tenants
Australian Open (Tennis) (2001–present) Melbourne Vixens (ANZ Championship) (2008–present) 2004 UCI Track Cycling World Championships 2006 Commonwealth Games 2012 UCI Track Cycling World Championships South Dragons (NBL) (2006–2009)

Hisense Arena is a sports venue that is part of the Melbourne Park complex, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The arena's current name was purchased in July 2008.

History

Construction of the arena, which has a maximum capacity of 11,000 people, commenced in the late 1990s, and was completed in 2000. It was originally called the Multi-Purpose Venue, until the naming rights were sold to Vodafone. 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 during rain.

The South Dragons NBL team had made the Venue its home court. Formerly, the Victoria Titans and Melbourne Tigers used it 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 Dragons withdrew from the competition after winning the championship in 2009, leaving the arena and the NBL.

In August 2004, the Multi Purpose Venue hosted its only WWE show as part of the Return of the Deadman Tour. It has been used for netball since 1997 for Melbourne Phoenix and Melbourne Kestrels games in the Commonwealth Bank Trophy. The Melbourne Phoenix and Melbourne Kestrels played their last home game there before aligning to become the Melbourne Vixens. The Melbourne Vixens now use it for home games in the ANZ Championship.

The largest netball attendance at the arena was set on 20 November 2004 when 10,300 saw Australia defeat New Zealand 53-51. The largest basketball crowd was set on 18 October 2008 when 9,308 fans attended a local derby NBL game to see the Dragons defeat the Tigers 108-80.

Naming rights history

On 12 May 2008, it was announced that as of 1 July 2008, Vodafone Arena would be renamed Hisense Arena in a multi-million dollar six year deal.

Events

Australian Open

Every year, the Multi Purpose Venue 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. However in 2012 the venue saw night matches in the first week of the tournament as well, running parallel to matches played on Centre Court. The first Australian Open match to be played in the Multi Purpose Venue, on 15 January 2001, lasted less than ten minutes, Monica Seles advancing through the first round when Brie Rippner was injured in the second game of the match. The first match completed on the court was Tim Henman's first round win over Hicham Arazi.

Commonwealth Games

During the Commonwealth Games the stadium was used for basketball and other sports, its name changed to "Multi-Purpose Venue", with all Vodafone-related signs covered over with black shrouds because Telstra, a competitor of Vodafone, was a major sponsor of the Games.

Concerts

The Multi Purpose Venue also plays hosts to Australian and international musical artists. Despite the more modern construction and facilities of the Multi Purpose Venue, promoters generally prefer the Rod Laver Arena due to its higher capacity. The Multi Purpose Venue provides a suitable alternative when the Rod Laver Arena is not available.

External links

• Official site
• Melbourne Multi Purpose Venue at Austadiums

Preceded by Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle Stuttgart	UCI Track Cycling World Championships Venue 2004	Succeeded by ADT Event Center Los Angeles
Preceded by Apeldoorn Omnisport Centre Apeldoorn	UCI Track Cycling World Championships Venue 2012	Succeeded by TBA