AIS Arena is a multi-purpose arena in
Canberra
Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...
, Australia, located on the grounds of the
Australian Institute of Sport
The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is a high performance sports training institution in Australia. The institute's headquarters were opened in 1981 and are situated in the northern suburb of Bruce, Canberra. The AIS is a division of the ...
. It was built in 1981 and was originally named the National Indoor Sports Centre.
History
The arena was designed by
Philip Cox & Partners and the main contractor was
John Holland Group. Architectural features include a 1200 tonne suspended concrete panel roof supported by 12 steel masts and 36 mainstay cables. The roof has a span of 100.4 metres. The stadium is partly set into the ground to reduce its scale and to establish a visual connection between the landscape and the mast and cable structure of the roof.
The arena has been home to the
Canberra Cannons of the
National Basketball League (NBL) and the
Australian Institute of Sport WNBL team of the
Women's National Basketball League
The Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) is a professional women's basketball list of basketball leagues, league in Australia composed of eight teams. The league was founded in 1981 and is the Women's sports, women's counterpart to the Na ...
(WNBL). While the Cannons were playing at the arena it was known as "The Palace". The arena has hosted
Australian Boomers and
Australian Opals international basketball games, as well as the
Australian Netball Diamonds. The arena has also hosted the
Canberra Roller Derby League and many concerts.
In 2014, the AIS invested in a $200,000 removable floor to help it tap into new markets to increase revenue by attracting more sports, concerts, ice skating and even indoor equestrian events at AIS Arena.
In 2015 and 2016, the venue received a $9.4 million upgrade, with the refurbishment involving better seating and windows. It forced the
Canberra Capitals to find an alternative home venue for the end of the
2015–16 WNBL season.
The arena was shut down in 2020 due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
and its poor fire safety. It was later used as a mass vaccination clinic. The arena received $15 million worth of repair work and re-opened in 2024.
For the
2024–25 WNBL season, the Capitals returned to the AIS Arena for the first time since the 2019–20 season. The
Canberra Brave of the
Australian Ice Hockey League
The Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL) is Australia's top-level men's ice hockey league. Established in 2000, the AIHL is sanctioned by Ice Hockey Australia (a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation). The AIHL is a Semi-professional ...
made their temporary move to the arena for eleven games during the
2025 season before completion of their new arena. An ice surface was laid atop the existing floor at AIS Arena.
See also
*
List of indoor arenas in Australia
References
External links
*
Archived information about the arena
{{Authority control
Sports venues in Canberra
Buildings and structures in Canberra
Canberra Cannons
Canberra Capitals
Defunct National Basketball League (Australia) venues
Australian Institute of Sport
Netball venues in Australia
Music venues in Australia
Indoor arenas in Australia
Basketball venues in Australia
1981 establishments in Australia
Sports venues completed in 1981
Giants Netball
New South Wales Swifts
Philip Cox buildings