AIS Arena is a multi-purpose arena in Canberra, Australia. Its capacity is 5,200 and it was built in 1980. The arena was opened by the Prime Minister of Australia,

Malcolm Fraser John Malcolm Fraser (; 21 May 1930 – 20 March 2015) was an Australian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Australia from 1975 to 1983, holding office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. Fraser was raised on hi ...

, on 26 January 1981 and was originally named the National Indoor Sports Centre and was the inaugural home of the Australian Institute of Sport.

History

The arena was designed by

Philip Cox & Partners Philip Sutton Cox (born 1 October 1939) is an Australian architect. Cox is the founding partner of Cox Architecture, one of the largest architectural practices in Australia. He commenced his first practice with Ian McKay in 1962, and ...

. 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 AIS Arena is able to seat up to 5,200 people. The main contractor was

John Holland Group The John Holland Group is an infrastructure, building, rail and transport business operating in Australia and New Zealand. Headquartered in Melbourne, it is a subsidiary of China Communications Construction. History The company was founded in ...

Sport

The arena is home to the

Canberra Capitals The University of Canberra Capitals are an Australian professional women's basketball team competing in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL). The team is based in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. In 2014 the University of Canberr ...

and Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) who play in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL). While the AIS won one WNBL championship the Capitals have been far more successful and have won a record seven WNBL championships. The arena AIS Arena was also home to defunct National Basketball League team the

Canberra Cannons The Canberra Cannons are a defunct basketball team that competed in Australia's National Basketball League (NBL). They went into financial administration in 2003 and were relocated to Newcastle, where they became the Hunter Pirates. After t ...

. The Cannons would win three championships while in Canberra yet they never got to celebrate a home grand final win as their three NBL titles (1983, 1984 and 1988) were all won in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. While the Cannons were playing at the arena it was known as "The Palace", in part due to the venue being by far the largest (from 1981 to 1983 the next largest was the 3,000 capacity

Apollo Stadium Apollo Stadium (officially called the Apollo Entertainment Centre) was a multi-purpose indoor arena located at 41 Kingston Avenue, Richmond, South Australia, just 5 minutes from the Adelaide city centre. The stadium had an original seating capac ...

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

), and the most modern venue used in the NBL during the leagues early years. The arena would be superseded as the largest NBL venue in 1984 when the

Coburg Giants The North Melbourne Giants, previously known as the Coburg Giants, were an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of ...

(later North Melbourne Giants) moved into the 7,200 capacity

Melbourne Sports and Entertainment Centre The Melbourne Sports and Entertainment Centre (originally known as the Swimming and Diving Stadium and now known commercially as the AIA Vitality Centre) is a sports administration and training facility located in the Melbourne Sports and Entert ...

. The Cannons would play here from 1981 to 2003 before the team moved to

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

to become the

Hunter Pirates The Hunter Pirates are a defunct Australian professional men's basketball team that competed in the National Basketball League (NBL). It was based in the city of Newcastle, New South Wales. Team history The team was once known as the Canberra ...

. Among those who played for the Cannons during their time in Canberra include Olympians

Phil Smyth Philip John Smyth AM (born 11 May 1958) is an Australian former professional basketball player and coach. He won three National Basketball League (NBL) championships with the Canberra Cannons before going on to be a three-time championship-wi ...

, Mark Dalton and

Ray Borner Ray Borner OAM (born 27 May 1962) is an Australian former basketball player who competed in the National Basketball League. He was named as the NBL's Most Valuable Player for the 1985 season, becoming the first Australian born player to win ...

, former Denver Nuggets NBA guard

Darnell Mee LaFarrell Darnell Mee (born February 11, 1971) is an American former professional basketball player who played 12 seasons in the National Basketball League (NBL). He played college basketball for Western Kentucky before being selected by the Go ...

, as well as Willie Simmons, Joe Hurst, James Crawford, Tad Dufelmeier, Herb Mceachin, Robert Rose, and C. J. Bruton. As it is in the nation's capital, it also plays semi-regular host to the Australian Boomers and Australian Opals men's and women's senior basketball teams, as well as the

Australian Netball Diamonds The Australia national netball team, also known as the Australian Diamonds, represent Netball Australia in international netball tournaments such as the INF Netball World Cup, the Commonwealth Games, the Constellation Cup, the Netball Quad S ...

. With respect to the latter sport,

Giants Netball Giants Netball (stylised as GIANTS Netball) are an Australian netball team based in Greater Western Sydney, New South Wales. Since 2017 they have played in Suncorp Super Netball. The team was formed in 2016 as a joint venture between Netball N ...

who compete in the National Netball League have played one home match since 2017. The arena is also the home of the

Canberra Roller Derby League The Canberra Roller Derby League (CRDL) is a Canberra-based roller derby league. It was created in 2008, with the first bouts occurring in 2009. Canberra currently holds the Division 1 trophy for The Great Southern Slam. Canberra is a member ...

. During the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, the AIS Arena hosted a mass vaccination clinic.

Concerts

The arena doesn't only host sporting events and can be configured in different ways. It can be used for trade shows, gala dinners, exhibitions or even as a cocktail venue with room for up to 2,500 guests. The arena is also used for major indoor concerts in Canberra with musical acts such as

Bobby Brown Robert Barisford Brown (born February 5, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter and dancer. Brown, alongside frequent collaborator Teddy Riley, is noted as one of the pioneers of new jack swing: a fusion of hip hop and R&B. Brown started h ...

P!nk Alecia Beth Moore Hart (born September 8, 1979), known professionally as Pink (stylized as P!nk), is an American singer, songwriter, actress and dancer. She was originally a member of the girl group Choice. In 1995, LaFace Records saw potential ...

Alice Cooper Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guillot ...

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

, Delta Goodrem,

Jessica Mauboy Jessica Hilda Mauboy (born 4 August 1989) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. Born and raised in Darwin, Northern Territory, she rose to fame in 2006 on the fourth season of ''Australian Idol'', where she was runner-up and subseq ...

Matchbox Twenty Matchbox Twenty (also known as Matchbox 20 and MB20) is an American rock band formed in Orlando, Florida, in 1995. The group currently consists of Rob Thomas (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Brian Yale (bass guitar), Paul Doucette (drums, ...

Def Leppard Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1976 in Sheffield. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drums, backing vocals), Phil Collen (guitar, backing vocals), ...

Good Charlotte Good Charlotte is an American rock band from Waldorf, Maryland that formed in 1996. Since 2005, the band's lineup has consisted of twin brothers Joel Madden (lead vocals) and Benji Madden (guitar and vocals), Paul Thomas (bass), Billy Mart ...

, Linkin Park,

Blink-182 Blink-182 (stylized as blink-182) is an American rock band formed in Poway, California in 1992. Their current lineup consists of bassist/vocalist Mark Hoppus, guitarist/vocalist Tom DeLonge, and drummer Travis Barker. Though their sound has ...

, Ice Cube and

Kelly Clarkson Kelly Brianne Clarkson (born April 24, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter, author, and television personality. She rose to fame after winning the first season of ''American Idol'' in 2002, which earned her a record deal with RCA. Her debu ...

performing there. It has a capacity for 4,264 during concerts.

References

External links

*
Info about the arenaArchived 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

History

Sport

Concerts

See also

References

External links