Misplaced Pages

#896103

35-628: Rod Laver Arena is a multipurpose arena located within Melbourne Park , in Melbourne , Victoria , Australia. The arena is the main venue for the Australian Open , the first Grand Slam tennis tournament of the calendar year. Replacing the ageing Kooyong Stadium , construction on the arena began in 1985. It was undertaken by Civil & Civic and was completed in 1987 at a cost of AU$ 94 million. It opened on 11 January 1988 for

70-477: A capacity of 15,400 for sports such as basketball , when extra seats are added around the court, and up to 14,200 for concerts with floor seating. The arena currently attracts over 1.5 million visitors per year. The arena was the first tennis venue in the world and the first arena of any kind in Australia to have a retractable roof installed. The idea for such a roof came about at the suggestion of John Cain ,

105-799: A full house in attendance. The arena was also home to the South East Melbourne Magic (later renamed the Victoria Titans in 1998 after merging with the North Melbourne Giants ) with both teams attracting some of the largest crowds in the history of the NBL . Rod Laver Arena was also the site of the first ever "outdoor" pro basketball game in Australia when the Magic hosted the Adelaide 36ers on 31 December 1997 with

140-468: A location, often with the specific intent of comparing an idea to a sporting event. Such examples of these would be terms such as "the arena of war", "the arena of love" or "the political arena". Backboard (basketball) The top of the hoop is 10 feet (3.05 m) above the ground. Regulation backboards are 6 feet (1.83 m) wide by 3.5 feet (1.07 m) tall. All basketball rims (hoops) are 18 inches (46 cm) in diameter. The inner rectangle on

175-410: A new eastern-facing primary entrance, an expanded public concourse space and other amenities designed to "open up" the arena and provide enhanced facilities and entry points for spectators. A new four-level Player Pod was constructed which increased the space for training, treatment, recovery, dining and lounging for athletes at major tournaments such as the Australian Open . In addition, the venue's roof

210-570: A record-breaking 18 concerts at the venue in the winter of 2013 with her Truth About Love Tour , beating her own record of 17 shows from the Funhouse Tour in 2009. She is currently the artist who holds the record for most shows at the venue, with 53 shows. American singer Olivia Rodrigo made her Australian debut at this venue on her Guts Tour , performing shows on October 9, 10, 13 and 14, 2024. American singer Billie Eilish performed four shows on her Happier Than Ever, The World Tour at

245-505: A roof. The key feature of an arena is that the event space is the lowest point, allowing maximum visibility. Arenas are usually designed to accommodate a multitude of spectators. The word derives from Latin harena , a particularly fine-grained sand that covered the floor of ancient arenas such as the Colosseum in Rome , Italy, to absorb blood. The term arena is sometimes used as

280-481: A suspended system using the venue's ceiling joists to support the goal and allow them to be put out of the way in the ceiling support system via a system of pulleys when not in use, along with the more common wall-mounted system. Practice or gym class -utilized sideline backboards are generally of the permanently wall-mounted variety, and usually have opaque fiberglass or thick metal boards instead, along with most outdoor municipal park boards. In intervening years,

315-430: A synonym for a very large venue such as Pasadena's Rose Bowl , but such a facility is typically called a stadium . The use of one term over the other has mostly to do with the type of event. Football (be it association , rugby , gridiron , Australian rules , or Gaelic ) is typically played in a stadium, while basketball , volleyball , handball , and ice hockey are typically played in an arena, although many of

350-476: Is also the sport of indoor American football (one variant of which is explicitly known as arena football), a variant of the outdoor game that is designed for the usual smaller playing surface of most arenas; variants of other traditionally outdoor sports, including box lacrosse as well as futsal and indoor soccer , also exist. The term "arena" is also used loosely to refer to any event or type of event which either literally or metaphorically takes place in such

385-478: Is classed as a stadium rather than an arena). It is also the second largest indoor arena in Australia behind the 21,032 capacity Sydney Super Dome . The arena's retractable roof allows competitors to continue play during rain or extreme heat. Rod Laver Arena is equipped with the Hawk-Eye Live line-calling system which has been used in place of line judges since the 2021 Australian Open. Rod Laver Arena

SECTION 10

#1732779504897

420-490: Is the focal point of the Australian Open at Melbourne Park , and besides tennis , the arena has hosted basketball , motorbike super-crosses , music concerts , conferences, professional wrestling events and ballet . Other than for tennis, during sporting events or concerts, a section of the southern lower seating bowl is retracted to allow space for a stage or special floor level seating. Rod Laver Arena acts as

455-545: The 1988 Australian Open . Originally known in 1988 as the National Tennis Centre at Flinders Park , the arena has officially changed its name twice. First in 1996, when it was known as the Centre Court , and again on 16 January 2000 to honour Rod Laver , a three-time winner of the Australian Open and one of the world's greatest tennis players. Rod Laver Arena has a seating capacity of 14,820, with

490-729: The Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team at the Men's Gymnasium at Indiana University . After the first few games at their new facility in 1917, spectators complained that they could not see the game because of opaque wooden backboards. As a result, the Nurre Mirror Plate Company in Bloomington was employed to create new backboards that contained 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 -inch-thick (3.8 cm) plate glass so that fans could see games without an obstructed view. It

525-595: The Australian Boomers and the New Zealand Tall Blacks . In front of 15,062 fans Australia ran out 71–59 winners. Rod Laver Arena was the focal point of the 12th FINA World Aquatics Championships , which were held from 17 March to 1 April 2007. A temporary swimming pool, named the Susie O'Neill Pool after Australian swimming champion Susie O'Neill , was built at significant cost. Rod Laver

560-644: The Australian Boomers on numerous occasions, including playing against the Magic Johnson All-Stars in 1995, as well as hosting the 1997 FIBA Under-22 World Championship , which Australia won for the first time. The arena also played host to the 1993 NBL All-Star Game with the NBL Stars defeating the Boomers 124–119. On 15 August 2015, Rod Laver Arena played host to the opening game of the 2015 FIBA Men's Oceania Basketball Championship between

595-569: The Magic and Tigers, saw the NBL's largest ever single game Grand Final crowd when 15,064 watched the Magic defeat the Tigers 88–84. 1992 saw the first time two teams from the one city had reached the NBL Grand Final series when the Magic faced fellow Melbourne Park tenants the Tigers. With all games being played at the league's largest venue a record aggregate of 43,605 (average 14,535) fans saw

630-520: The Magic win their first championship two games to one, coming back to win games two and three 115–93 and 95–88 after losing game one 98–116. In all, Rod Laver Arena hosted 287 NBL games including NBL Championship deciders in 1992, 1996, 1997 and 1999, and played host to its last game in April 2000 before Melbourne Arena opened in 2000 and became the new home of basketball in Melbourne. The arena hosted

665-499: The Rod Laver Arena. Eilish performed at the Rod Laver Arena from 22 September 2022 to 24 September 2022, and again on 26 September 2022. Eilish will return to Rod Laver Arena in 2025 on her Hit Me Hard And Soft: The Tour , on March 4, 5, 7 and 8 as part of the final shows of said tour. British singer Dua Lipa will perform five shows from March 17 through March 23 2025, for her Radical Optimism Tour . From 1988 until 2007,

700-565: The arena polled 9th out of 50 worldwide top arenas for first-quarter ticket sales, making it the second highest ticket selling venue in Australia, second to Sydney's Qudos Bank Arena , which placed third. In 2012, the arena became Australia's highest selling venue and 4th in the world, based on 2011 ticket sales. Rod Laver Arena's record attendance of 16,183 was set on 18 November 2007 for a Justin Timberlake concert during his FutureSex/LoveShow tour. American rock singer P!nk performed

735-464: The arena would undergo a redevelopment of its exterior facade and interior customer features, such as bars and other facilities. The refurbishment constituted the main aspect of the $ 338 million second stage of redevelopments that occurred at the Melbourne Park precinct , which included a new pedestrian bridge linking Melbourne Park and Birrarung Marr and a new media and administration centre. Construction began in April 2016. The refurbishment included

SECTION 20

#1732779504897

770-417: The backboard is 24 inches (61 cm) wide by 18 inches (46 cm) tall, and helps a shooter determine the proper aim and banking for either a layup or distance shot. In addition to those markings and those of its manufacturer, leagues and governing bodies often place other decals on the edge of the backboard on the glass, including the logo of the league or organization, and a national flag . On top of

805-590: The backboard, a league or team's web address or sponsor logo is affixed to take advantage of the high television camera angle utilized for instant replay of slam dunks and other shots above the rim. In professional and most higher college settings, the backboard is part of a portable wheeled stanchion that can be moved out of the way and stored to allow the venue to host multiple other sports and events, though in most high schools and examples such as Stanford University 's Maples Pavilion and Cameron Indoor Stadium at Duke University , backboards are mounted as part of

840-468: The centre court for the Australian Open tennis championships every year. The player after whom the arena is named, Rod Laver , is a frequent guest of honour at Championships and has presented the trophy to the men's singles champion on several occasions. Laver is widely considered the best player of his generation and amongst the best players of all time. Rod Laver Arena was the scene for Australia's famous Davis Cup victories in 2003 . The arena hosted

875-540: The home of Melbourne basketball when the Melbourne Tigers (now known as Melbourne United ) defeated the Canberra Cannons 112–104. The venue was actually criticised in its early days as a basketball venue due to the poor quality of the backboards and rings used. However, these concerns were quickly addressed and the arena became known as one of the best in the country, especially with anywhere near

910-588: The larger arenas hold more spectators than do the stadiums of smaller colleges or high schools. There are exceptions. The home of the Duke University men's and women's basketball teams would qualify as an arena, but the facility is called Cameron Indoor Stadium . Domed stadiums, which, like arenas, are enclosed but have the larger playing surfaces and seating capacities found in stadiums, are generally not referred to as arenas in North America. There

945-410: The portable stanchion containing the backboard has also taken on cabling and sensors within its core, along with the structure of a game clock and shot clock above it, which makes the setup of one as involved as an arena's basketball floor, to the point of requiring a replacement backboard being on standby if it and/or the rim is ever taken out of level or broken. The first glass backboard was used by

980-408: The premier of Victoria around 1980, who came up with the compromise idea after Tennis Australia requested the government to build an open-air tennis facility next to a preexisting government project to build a closed-roof entertainment centre. The Rod Laver Arena is the largest indoor arena in Australia without a permanent roof (not counting the 56,347 seat Docklands Stadium , also in Melbourne, which

1015-541: The roof open. The largest basketball crowd at Rod Laver Arena was set in 1996 when 15,366 attended a local derby game between the Magic and Tigers. This remains the second largest NBL basketball attendance ever in Australia behind the 17,803 who attended a game between the Sydney Kings and West Sydney Razorbacks at the Sydney Super Dome in 1999. Game two of the 1996 NBL Grand Final series, also between

1050-483: The semi-final and Final, at which Australia was successful in recording their 28th Davis Cup title. Aside from tennis, the sport most often held at Rod Laver Arena in the past was basketball . The arena's first basketball game was in 1991 when the Australian Boomers played host to a touring All-Star team headlined by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar , with over 15,000 in attendance. On 3 April 1992, the arena became

1085-436: The surface of the court at the Australian Open and on Rod Laver Arena was Rebound Ace , which was coloured green and played slowly. The surface was also blamed for many injuries in the Australian Open, with many players claiming that the surface became sticky in hot weather, making it difficult to play on. In 2008, the surface was changed to Plexicushion , and coloured blue. The surface is similar in properties to DecoTurf ,

Rod Laver Arena - Misplaced Pages Continue

1120-519: The surface used in the US Open . This has more cushioning and more give than Rebound Ace. In 2019 the surface was changed again to Greenset , though retained its blue appearance and similarities to the Plexicushion. It has also had a temporary grass court in use, during the 1993 Davis Cup quarterfinals, 2001 Davis Cup final and the 2003 Davis Cup final. In June 2015, it was announced that

1155-815: Was booked for a concert. On 10 February 2019, the venue hosted UFC 234: Adesanya vs. Silva . On September 23 and 24, 2023, the arena hosted National Hockey League (NHL) pre-season ice hockey when the Arizona Coyotes faced the Los Angeles Kings . Rod Laver Arena was one of the host venues, along with Margaret Court Arena and Melbourne Arena , for the second Melbourne Esports Open on the weekend of 31 August to 1 September 2019. It featured three major regional esports tournaments across League of Legends , Overwatch and Rainbow Six Siege . Rod Laver Arena consistently hosts many of Melbourne's highest-profile musical and entertainment concerts . In 2009,

1190-502: Was the host venue for the gymnastics competition at the 2006 Commonwealth Games . The venue has hosted professional wrestling events such as World Wrestling Entertainment , World Championship Wrestling , World Wrestling All-Stars and World Cup skateboarding . In July 2012, the venue hosted its first netball match, when the Melbourne Vixens were forced to move a home semi-final to the arena after their usual home venue

1225-481: Was upgraded to allow for it to be closed for inclement weather in five minutes, dropping from the 30 minutes it took beforehand. The refurbishment was completed in late December 2018. Arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre , musical performances , and/or sporting events . It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators, and may be covered by

#896103