The Tennis Centre | |
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 Rod Laver Arena at a night session of the 2023 Australian Open | |
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| Full name | Rod Laver Arena at Melbourne Park |
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| Former names | National Tennis Centre at Flinders Park (1988–1996) Centre Court (1996–2000) |
| Address | 200 Batman Ave MelbourneVIC 3004 Australia |
| Location | Melbourne Park |
| Coordinates | 37°49′18″S144°58′42″E / 37.82167°S 144.97833°E /-37.82167; 144.97833 |
| Owner | Government of Victoria |
| Operator | Melbourne and Olympic Park Trust |
| Capacity | 14,820[2] |
| Record attendance | ~26000 –Intel Extreme Masters Melbourne 2025,Counter-Strike 2 tournament[3] |
| Surface | Rebound Ace (1988–2007) (tennis) Plexicushion (2008–2018) (tennis) GreenSet (2019–present) (tennis) Hardwood (basketball) |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 1985 |
| Opened | 11 January 1988 (1988-01-11) |
| Renovated | 1995 |
| Construction cost | A$94 million (Original) ($305 million in 2022 dollars[1]) $23 million (1996 renovations) ($45 million in 2022 dollars[1]) |
| Architect | |
| Main contractors | Lendlease (formerly Civil & Civic) |
| Tenants | |
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| Website | |
| Venue Website | |
Rod Laver Arena is a multipurposearena located withinMelbourne Park, inMelbourne,Victoria, Australia. The arena is the main venue for theAustralian Open, the firstGrand Slam tennis tournament of the calendar year.
Replacing the agingKooyong Stadium, construction on the arena began in 1985.[4] It was undertaken byCivil & Civic[5] and was completed in 1987 at a cost ofAU$94 million.[6] It opened on 11 January 1988 for the1988 Australian Open.[7]
Originally known in 1988 as theNational Tennis Centre at Flinders Park,[8] the arena has officially changed its name twice. First in 1996, when it was known as theCentre Court, and again on 16 January 2000 to honourRod Laver, a three-time winner of the Australian Open and one of the world's greatest tennis players.[9][10]
Rod Laver Arena has aseating capacity of 14,820, with a capacity of 15,400 for sports such asbasketball, when extra seats are added around the court, and up to 14,200 for concerts with floor seating.[11] 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 aretractable roof installed. The idea for such a roof came about at the suggestion ofJohn Cain, 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.[12]
The Rod Laver Arena is the largest indoor arena in Australia without a permanent roof (not counting the 56,347 seatDocklands Stadium, also in Melbourne, which is classed as astadium rather than an arena). It is also the second largest indoor arena in Australia behind the 21,032 capacitySydney Super Dome. The arena's retractable roof allows competitors to continue play during rain or extreme heat.
Rod Laver Arena is equipped with theHawk-Eye Live line-calling system which has been used in place of line judges since the 2021 Australian Open.
Rod Laver Arena is the focal point of the Australian Open atMelbourne Park, and besidestennis, the arena has hostedbasketball, motorbikesuper-crosses,music concerts, conferences,professional wrestling events andballet. 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 the centre court for theAustralian 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.[a]
Rod Laver Arena was the scene forAustralia's famousDavis Cup victories in2003. The arena hosted 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 wasbasketball. The arena's first basketball game was in 1991 when theAustralian Boomers played host to a touring All-Star team headlined byKareem Abdul-Jabbar, with over 15,000 in attendance.
On 3 April 1992, the arena became the home of Melbourne basketball when theMelbourne Tigers (now known asMelbourne United) defeated theCanberra Cannons 112–104. The venue was actually criticised in its early days as a basketball venue due to the poor quality of thebackboards 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 a full house in attendance. The arena was also home to theSouth East Melbourne Magic (later renamed theVictoria Titans in 1998 after merging with theNorth Melbourne Giants) with both teams attracting some of the largest crowds in the history of theNBL. Rod Laver Arena was also the site of the first ever "outdoor" pro basketball game in Australia when the Magic hosted theAdelaide 36ers on 31 December 1997 with 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 theSydney Kings andWest Sydney Razorbacks at theSydney Super Dome in 1999. Game two of the 1996 NBL Grand Final series, also between 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.[22]
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 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 beforeMelbourne Arena opened in 2000 and became the new home of basketball in Melbourne. The arena hosted the Australian Boomers on numerous occasions, including playing against theMagic Johnson All-Stars in 1995, as well as hosting the1997 FIBA Under-22 World Championship, which Australia won for the first time.[23][24] The arena also played host to the 1993NBL 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 the2015 FIBA Men's Oceania Basketball Championship between the Australian Boomers and theNew Zealand Tall Blacks. In front of 15,062 fans Australia ran out 71–59 winners.[25]
On 11 March 2025, theNational Basketball Association, theNational Basketball League and theVictoria State Government announced that theNew Orleans Pelicans of the NBA would play two pre-season exhibition basketball games at Rod Laver Arena, as part of theNBA x NBL: Melbourne Series. The Pelicans will playMelbourne United 3 October 2025, and theSouth East Melbourne Phoenix on 5 October 2025.[26]
Rod Laver Arena was the focal point of the 12thFINA 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 championSusie O'Neill, was built at significant cost.
Rod Laver was the host venue for thegymnastics competition at the2006 Commonwealth Games.
The venue has hosted professional wrestling events such asWorld Wrestling Entertainment,World Championship Wrestling,World Wrestling All-Stars andWorld Cup skateboarding.[27][28] In July 2012, the venue hosted its firstnetball match, when theMelbourne Vixens were forced to move a home semi-final to the arena after their usual home venue was booked for a concert.[29] On 10 February 2019, the venue hostedUFC 234: Adesanya vs. Silva.[30] On September 23 and 24, 2023, the arena hostedNational Hockey League (NHL) pre-season ice hockey when theArizona Coyotes faced theLos Angeles Kings.
Rod Laver Arena was one of the host venues, along withMargaret Court Arena andMelbourne Arena, for the second Melbourne Esports Open on the weekend of 31 August to 1 September 2019. It featured three major regionalesports tournaments acrossLeague of Legends,Overwatch andRainbow Six Siege.[31][32]
Rod Laver Arena hosted the playoffs of theIntel Extreme Masters Melbourne 2025 tournament forCounter-Strike 2, from 25 to 27 April 2025.Which later became the most viewed tournament in Australia With 1.25M view peaked during stream[33]
Rod Laver Arena consistently hosts many of Melbourne's highest-profile musical and entertainmentconcerts. In 2009, 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'sQudos 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.[34]
Rod Laver Arena's record attendance of 16,183 was set on 18 November 2007 for aJustin Timberlakeconcert during hisFutureSex/LoveShow tour.[35]
American singerP!nk performed a record-breaking 18 concerts at the venue in the winter of 2013 with herTruth About Love Tour, beating her own record of 17 shows from theFunhouse Tour in 2009.[36] She is currently the artist who holds the record for most shows at the venue, with 53 shows.
American singerBillie Eilish performed four shows on herHappier Than Ever, The World Tour at 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 returned to Rod Laver Arena in 2025 on herHit Me Hard And Soft: The Tour, on March 4, 5, 7 and 8 as part of the final Australian shows of said tour.
Chinese singer-songwriterJoker Xue performed on March 26, 2024 as part of hisExtraterrestrial World Tour.
American singerOlivia Rodrigo made her Australian debut at this venue on herGuts Tour, performing shows on October 9, 10, 13 and 14, 2024.
British singerDua Lipa performed five shows from March 17 through March 23 2025, for herRadical Optimism Tour.
From 1988 until 2007, the surface of the court at theAustralian Open and on Rod Laver Arena wasRebound 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 toPlexicushion, and coloured blue. The surface is similar in properties toDecoTurf, the surface used in theUS Open. This has more cushioning and more give than Rebound Ace. In 2019 the surface was changed again toGreenset, though retained its blue appearance and similarities to the Plexicushion.
It has also had a temporary grass court in use, during the1993 Davis Cup quarterfinals,2001 Davis Cup final and the2003 Davis Cup final.
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In June 2015, it was announced that 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 theMelbourne Park precinct, which included a new pedestrian bridge linking Melbourne Park andBirrarung Marr and a new media and administration centre.[37][38] Construction began in April 2016.[37]
The refurbishment included 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.[39] 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 theAustralian Open.[40] In addition, the venue's roof was upgraded to allow for it to be closed for inclement weather in five minutes, dropping from the 30 minutes it took beforehand.[41][42] The refurbishment was completed in late December 2018.[43]
Media related toRod Laver Arena at Wikimedia CommonsAuthority control databases: Geographic |
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