Westpac Arena
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Westpac Arena formerly known as the Westpac Centre and before that the WestpacTrust Centre is a sporting and entertainment arena located in Addington, Christchurch, New Zealand.
The Westpac Arena was New Zealand's largest and most modern indoor stadium with a capacity of around 9,100 until the construction of Aucklands Vector Arena. The indoor stadium is capable of hosting concerts, exhibitions and various sporting events. Provision for international sport and traditional indoor arena events has been integrated into the design requirements.
The Westpac Arena has over 7200 seats for sporting fixtures or, in the concert configuration, the seating can increase to over 8,888.
The Sports and Entertainment complex is located adjacent to Addington Raceway in Southwest Christchurch surrounded by 3000 carparks. The complex is only 10 minutes from the central business district
It is currently the largest indoor arena in New Zealand, though it will soon lose that crown to Vector Arena in Auckland which is currently being built. When it is finished it will boast a capacity of 12,000+ depending on configuration.
Westpac Arena has been affectionately dubbed 'The woolshed' , by Canterbury Rams basketball fans. Some Christchurch citizens colloquially refer to the arena as the horseshoe, due to its unusual architectural exterior design.
Australian and New Zealand bank, Westpac, currently holds the rights to the stadium, as well as other stadiums and theaters throughout New Zealand.
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[edit] History
The arena opened in September 1998 at a cost of NZ$32 Million. In the first ever sporting match at Westpac Arena , the Canterbury Rams basketball team suffered a close loss to the Wellington Saints 86-81 in April 1999.
The Westpac Arena was built for two main reasons: primarily for the 1999 Netball World Cup in Christchurch, and also because Christchurch was missing out on many concerts and other attractions, because it did not have a suitable indoor arena in the city .
[edit] Current Tenants
- Canterbury Rams 1999-
- Canterbury Flames 2002-
[edit] Events
Sporting
Since its opening the Westpac Arena has been host to a number of different sporting events. These Include home matches for the Canterbury Rams (Basketball) and Canterbury Flames (Netball) teams. Various international basketball fixtures featuring the Tall Blacks. It was also home to the 1999 Netball World Cup and since then is the premier venue for New Zealand Silver Ferns international Netball fixtures.
It has also been host to a lot of non-regular sporting events. These include various Celebrity Tennis Matches, Ice Shows, Disabled Games, Karate Championships and Gymnastics Competitions.
Concerts
The Westpac Arena has been host to many different concerts since it Opened. Most Notably in the Last few Years Neil Diamond, Velvet Revolver, 50 Cent, R.E.M. and Rod Stewart just to name a few.
Other Uses
The Westpac Arena also pays a key part of the Christchurch economy by being the host to regular annual trade shows. Some of which include the Christchurch Home Show, Womans Lifestyle Expo, The Christchurch Boat Show and the South Island gift Fare.
It is also managed by the same company that manages the Christchurch Convention Centre and plays an important part of hosting major conferences in cooperation with the convention centre. The combined facilities regularly host a variety of different conferences for up to 2500 people. It has been a frequent host for the New Zealand annual Tourism conference known as T.R.E.N.Z..
Back in 1999, the arena was used to stage the Disney on Ice production, the only time ice has employed on the Westpac Arena floor.
The venue is also used for big gala dinners, lunches, balls and cocktail parties.
[edit] Name Change
At Midday Thursday 1st March 2007 The Westpac Centre was officially renamed the Westpac Arena, along with getting a brand new Website.
[edit] External links
- http://www.vbase.co.nz - Venue manager for the Westpac Arena. Lists upcoming events and allows you to take a virtual tour of the Arena.
- Naming rights holder
