WIN Entertainment Centre
| WIN Entertainment Centre | |
|---|---|
| The WEC / The Sandpit | |
|
|
| Location | Corner of Crown & Harbour Streets, Wollongong, NSW 2520 |
| Coordinates | 34°25′36″S 150°54′10″E / 34.42667°S 150.90278°ECoordinates: 34°25′36″S 150°54′10″E / 34.42667°S 150.90278°E |
| Opened | 5 September 1998 |
| Owner | Wollongong Sportsground Trust, Pty Ltd. |
| Surface | Customisable |
| Capacity | Basketball: 6,000[1] Concerts: 5,000 Reduced mode: 1,000-3,000 |
| Tenants | |
| Wollongong Hawks (NBL) (1998-) | |
WIN Entertainment Centre (formally Wollongong Entertainment Centre and commonly WEC) is a multi-purpose indoor arena, located in downtown Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia.
The WEC opened on 5 September 1998 with a concert by Bob Dylan and Patti Smith; 4,935 people attended the event. Dylan performed at the venue again in 2011 performing to a crowd of 3,214 people.
It is the home of the NBL side the Wollongong Hawks and during Hawks games it is referred to as "The Sandpit" in reference to being next to the beach. It is also a play on name of the Hawks former home, the Beaton Park Stadium, which was commonly known as "The Snakepit"
The arena is 3 minutes walk from the city centre and has hosted a variety of events including Federation Cup tennis, world championship boxing and international musical acts.
It is built adjacent to WIN Stadium, the Illawarra home of the St George Illawarra Dragons of the National Rugby League. Previously from 1982 until 1998 Win Stadium, formerly the Wollongong Showground, was home to the Illawarra Steelers before their merger with Sydney team the St George Dragons.
The naming rights to both facilities are owned by WIN Corporation, a Wollongong-based media company which owns the television network, WIN.
The record attendance for an event at the WIN Centre is 5,839, set on 18 February 2005, when the Hawks played their regular season finale against the Sydney Kings.
Every year the WIN Entertainment Centre holds the Wakakirri Story Dance Wollongong heat and also a variety of concerts and expos.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
 |
This article about a sports venue in Australia is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
