Rod Laver Arena

Rod Laver Arena

The Tennis Centre
Former names	National Tennis Centre at Flinders Park (1988-1994) Centre Court (1994-2000)
Location	Melbourne, Australia
Coordinates	37°49′18″S 144°58′42″E
Operator	Melbourne
Capacity	14,820
Surface	Plexicushion
Construction
Broke ground	1985 [1]
Opened	1988
Construction cost	AUD $ 94 million
Architect	Cox Architects with Peddle Thorp Learmonth
Tenants
Australian Open (Tennis) (1988-present) Melbourne Tigers (NBL) (1992-2000) South East Melbourne Magic (NBL) (1992-1998) Victoria Titans (NBL) (1998-2000)

Rod Laver Arena is a part of the Melbourne Park complex located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, and has been the main venue for the Australian Open in tennis since 1988, replacing the aging Kooyong Stadium. Originally called Flinders Park or Centre Court, the arenas name officially changed in January 2000 to honour Rod Laver, a three-time winner of the Australian Open and one of world's greatest tennis players. The arena was finished in 1988 with a seating capacity of 14,820. The venue currently attracts over 1.5 million visitors per year.

The Arena features a retractable roof allowing competitors to continue play during rain or extreme heat. It is the centrepiece of Melbourne Park's Tennis Centre, and besides tennis, the arena hosts motorbike super-crosses, music concerts, conferences, World Wrestling Entertainment events since 2005, and ballets.

Rod Laver Arena was the centre-piece of the 12th FINA World Aquatics Championships, which were held from March 17-April 1, 2007. A temporary swimming pool, named the Susie O'Neill Pool after Australian swimming champion Susie O'Neill, was built to allow this to happen.

It hosted World Championship Wrestling in October 2000. The Rod Laver Arena played host to the gymnastics competition in the 2006 Commonwealth Games.

Rod Laver Arena is equipped with the Hawk-Eye electronic system which allows tennis players to challenge the umpire's decision on calls made throughout championships.

On April 3, 1992, the arena became the home of Melbourne basketball, with the Melbourne Tigers and the South-East Melbourne Magic (later renamed the Victoria Titans in 1998) calling the venue home, both attracting big crowds in the glory days of the NBL. The largest basketball crowd was 15,366 in 1996 to see the local derby between the Magic and Tigers. Rod Laver Arena hosted 287 NBL games including NBL Championship deciders in 1992, 1996, 1997 and 1998, and played host to its last game in April 2000, before Vodafone Arena opened in 2000, the new home of Melbourne Basketball.

Records

On November 18, 2007, the record crowd for Rod Laver Arena was recorded when 16,183 attended Justin Timberlake's concert, as a part of his FutureSex/LoveShow tour.

In November 2007, World Wrestling Entertainment held the WWE Raw Survivor Series Tour with an attendance of 15,570 Australian WWE fans.

Now, the record will be for the Two Faces Of Love Cast when they perform live for a crowd of 16,395 people as a part of their world tour on May 8, 2011. The tickets sold out in just minutes after coming out on sale.

• 
  Interior during the Australian Open
• 
  Rod Laver Arena, exterior (formerly Centre Court)

External links

• Official Website
• Rod Laver Arena at Austadiums
• Peddle Thorp Melbourne