The Adelaide Entertainment Centre (AEC) is an indoor arena located in the

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

n capital of

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 ...

. It is used for sporting and entertainment events. It is the principal venue for concerts, events and attractions for audiences between 1,000 and 11,300. It is located on Port Road in the suburb of Hindmarsh, just north-west of the

Adelaide city centre Adelaide city centre (Kaurna: Tarndanya) is the inner city locality of Greater Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia. It is known by locals simply as "the City" or "Town" to distinguish it from Greater Adelaide and from the City of Ad ...

. With modern architecture and acoustics, function rooms and catering, the Adelaide Entertainment Centre provides a live entertainment venue for hundreds of thousands of people each year. In 2010 the Adelaide Entertainment Centre completed a $52 million redevelopment with a new entry and theatre complex.

History

The AEC was established by the Government of South Australia in response to rising demand from the people of South Australia (primarily Adelaide) for a suitable

venue Venue is the location at which an event takes place. It may refer to: Locations * Venue (law), the place a case is heard * Financial trading venue, a place or system where financial transactions can occur * Music venue, place used for a concer ...

for international and local popular entertainment and sport. The 3,500 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 ...

, which had been Adelaide's primary entertainment and indoor sports venue since 1969, was increasingly considered to be too small to meet this need and by the end of the 1980s many international music acts were bypassing Adelaide (especially in the winter months) on their Australian tours due to the lack of a suitable indoor venue (the only other viable indoor venues in Adelaide were the Adelaide Festival Centre or the

Thebarton Theatre The Thebarton Theatre, also known as the Thebbie Theatre or simply Thebbie/Thebby, is an entertainment venue located in the inner-western Adelaide suburb of Torrensville, South Australia. Built in 1926 as a combined town hall / picture theatr ...

, both of which only held 2,000 which was even less than the Apollo's capacity). To meet the demand for a new indoor venue that could hold upwards of 10,000 people, the AEC was announced in late 1989 and would be built at a cost of

AU$ The Australian dollar ( sign: $; code: AUD) is the currency of Australia, including its external territories: Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, and Norfolk Island. It is officially used as currency by three independent Pacific Isla ...

44 million. Building for the venue began in early 1990 and involved the excavation of 75,200 tonnes of earth and the pouring of 36,480 tonnes of concrete, the largest concrete pour in South Australia at the time, as well as over 750,000 hours on construction. The Main Arena floor is 65.4 metres by 42.1 metres and the roof height is approximately 20 metres from the Arena floor (approximately the height of a 5-storey building). The clear span of the Arena is 85 metres, the 8 roof trusses weighed a total of 216 tonnes and 980 tonnes of structural steel was used in the construction. The Adelaide Entertainment Centre was officially opened on 20 July 1991 by

John Bannon John Charles Bannon (7 May 1943 – 13 December 2015) was an Australian politician and academic. He was the 39th Premier of South Australia, leading the South Australian Branch of the Australian Labor Party from a single term in opposition ba ...

, the then

Premier of South Australia The premier of South Australia is the head of government in the state of South Australia, Australia. The Government of South Australia follows the Westminster system, with a Parliament of South Australia acting as the legislature. The premier is ...

. Before the AEC was built it was generally believed by the people of Adelaide that it would also be the new home of the

Adelaide 36ers The Adelaide 36ers, also known as the Sixers, are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (NBL). The 36ers are the only team in the league representing the state of South Australia and are based in th ...

who played in the National Basketball League as they played their home games at Apollo and a move there when it opened seemed natural as ticket demand for the 36ers was more than twice what the old stadium could hold. This speculation was also fueled by the success of other teams in the NBL, namely the

Brisbane Bullets The Brisbane Bullets are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (NBL) based in Brisbane, Queensland. They competed from 1979 to 2008, and returned to the league in 2016. Brisbane were one of ten NBL f ...

Perth Wildcats The Perth Wildcats are an Australian professional basketball team based in Perth, Western Australia. The Wildcats compete in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at Perth Arena, ...

, and Sydney Kings who had all moved into their respective cities larger Entertainment Centres and were attracting record crowds. However, both the 36ers and their then owner the Basketball Association of South Australia wanted their own venue that would provide a home for

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

in SA, and thus the AU$16 million, 8,000 seat

Clipsal Powerhouse Adelaide Arena (known commercially as Adelaide 36ers Arena) is a multipurpose indoor sports stadium located in Findon, an inner western suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. It is the former home arena for the Adelaide 36ers of the NBL and th ...

(Renamed to Titanium Security Arena, and then to Adelaide Arena in 2019) was opened in 1992. In 2019, the Adelaide 36ers announced that the Adelaide Entertainment Centre would be the new home of the Adelaide 36ers NBL team. The Adelaide Entertainment Centre has capacity to hold 10,000 Basketball fans. The South Australian Government assigned responsibility for the management of the AEC to the

Grand Prix Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to: Arts and entertainment ...

Board in 1989. In August 1998, the Government established the Adelaide Entertainments Corporation. The first board of directors for the AEC was formally appointed on 9 February 1999. The current Board consists of seven Directors. In 2007, the Rann Government announced plans to renovate the Adelaide Entertainment Centre. The Government released the statement: "The State Government is committed to the vision of creating a vibrant entertainment and media precinct on the Adelaide Entertainment Centre Site". On 6 August 2007, the renovation plans were passed and construction began on the $52 million upgrade. Tourism Minister

Jane Lomax-Smith Jane Diane Lomax-Smith, AM (born 19 June 1950, in the United Kingdom) is an Australian politician and histopathologist who has been the Lord Mayor of the City of Adelaide since 14 November 2022. She was previously in local government for nine ...

said: "the upgrade comes on the back of a record-breaking last 12 months, with more than 370,000 passing through the centre's doors, and record profits recorded." The renovation included: major upgrades of the foyer, backstage area and corporate facilities; creation of additional car parking; new staging and curtains; renovation of administration areas; and restoration of the heritage-listed Revelations Chapel for use as a wedding and function venue. In the main arena itself 8,000 new seats were also installed. The centre not only holds music and cultural events, but hosts the occasional sporting event such as

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...

, as well as

Professional Wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

with the

World Wrestling Entertainment World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and va ...

using the venue for the Adelaide leg of their Australian tours since 2004. On 7 November 2010, the centre played host to the ANZ Championship grand final between local team the

Adelaide Thunderbirds Adelaide Thunderbirds are an Australian netball team based in Adelaide, South Australia. Since 2017 they have played in Suncorp Super Netball. Between 2008 and 2016, they played in the ANZ Championship and between 1997 and 2007, they pla ...

and the

Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic are a New Zealand netball team based in Hamilton. Between 1999 and 2007, they played in the Coca-Cola Cup/National Bank Cup league. Between 2008 and 2016, they played in the ANZ Championship. Since 2017, Magic have ...

team from New Zealand. The Thunderbirds won the grand final 52–42 in front of 9,300 fans. The Entertainment Centre was chosen over the Thunderbirds home venue of ETSA Park which only holds 3,200 and their former alternate venue,

Titanium Security Arena Adelaide Arena (known commercially as Adelaide 36ers Arena) is a multipurpose indoor sports stadium located in Findon, an inner western suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. It is the former home arena for the Adelaide 36ers of the NBL and th ...

, due to its ability to hold more spectators and because ticket demand was more than the Titanium's 8,000 capacity. The centre also hosted the opening two games of the 2012 Holden Netball Quad-Series in a double header with Australia taking on

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

taking on

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

. On 14 July 2013, the AEC hosted its second ANZ Championship grand final when the Thunderbirds hosted the

Queensland Firebirds Queensland Firebirds are an Australian netball team based in Brisbane, Queensland. Since 2017 they have played in Suncorp Super Netball. Between 2008 and 2016, they played in the ANZ Championship and between 1997 and 2007, they played in the ...

. The T-Birds kept their winning record at the venue when they defeated the Firebirds 50–48 in front of 9,000 fans. Since 2018, the Thunderbirds have utilised the Entertainment Centre as an alternate home venue. Kylie Minogue performed here for the first time on 25 and 26 April 2001, during her

On A Night Like This "On a Night Like This" is a song recorded by Australian recording artist Kylie Minogue. It was released on 11 September 2000 by Parlophone as the second single for her seventh studio album, '' Light Years'' (2000), and distributed in various f ...

. Minogue returned on 30 November and 1 December 2006 as part of her Homecoming Tour. Kylie performed again 18 June 2011 as part of her Aphrodite: Les Folies Tour and 17 March 2015 during her

Kiss Me Once Tour The Kiss Me Once Tour was the fourteenth concert tour by Australian singer Kylie Minogue. It was launched in support of her twelfth studio album, '' Kiss Me Once'' (2014) and visited Europe, Australia and Middle East. Rumours of plans to tour ...

. She will return on 11 March 2019, during her

Golden Tour The Golden Tour was the fifteenth concert tour by Australian recording artist Kylie Minogue. It was launched in support of her fourteenth studio album, Golden (Kylie Minogue album), ''Golden'' (2018) and visited Europe and Australia. It began ...

. On 23 July 2007, Irish vocal pop band

Westlife Westlife is an Irish pop vocal group formed in Dublin, Ireland in 1998. The group currently consists of members Shane Filan, Mark Feehily, Kian Egan, and Nicky Byrne. Brian McFadden was a member, until he left in 2004. The group temporarily di ...

held a concert for

The Love Tour The Love Tour was a tour by the Irish band Westlife seen by 390,000 fans. The tour started in Australia, and covered Africa and UK in 2007. The tour had a subtotal of £1,031,033 gross secondary ticket sales. Support acts *Code 5 *Cushh *Dyyc ...

supporting their album The Love Album. On 4 October 2014,

Miley Cyrus Miley Ray Cyrus ( ; born Destiny Hope Cyrus on November 23, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her distinctive raspy voice, her music spans across varied styles and genres, including pop, country, rock, hip ho ...

performed in the ''Entertainment Centre'' during the

Bangerz Tour The Bangerz Tour was the fourth concert tour by American singer Miley Cyrus. It was held in support of her fourth studio album, ''Bangerz'' (2013). The tour visited the Americas, Europe, and Oceania through five legs. It spanned from February 14 ...

for the second time since her last sold-out show in 2011 during her

Gypsy Heart Tour The Gypsy Heart Tour ( es, 'Corazón Gitano Tour', link=no) was the third concert tour by American singer Miley Cyrus, held in support of her third studio album ''Can't Be Tamed'' (2010). It visited primally Latin America, Australia, and the Phi ...

. On 9 October 2018, Cher performed at the arena as part of her

Here We Go Again Tour The Here We Go Again Tour was the seventh solo concert tour by American singer-actress Cher in support of her twenty-sixth studio album '' Dancing Queen''. This was the first time the singer had embarked on a world tour since her Living Proof: ...

. On 14 November 2022, Dua Lipa performed at the arena as part of her

Future Nostalgia Tour The Future Nostalgia Tour was the second concert tour and first arena tour by English singer Dua Lipa, in support of her second studio album, '' Future Nostalgia'' (2020). Originally announced in December 2019 and scheduled to take place from A ...

. After the centre's success, the number of regular plays and musicals decline in 2010s, as the Adelaide Festival Centre opposite the Adelaide Oval took over with musicals such as Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,

The Sound of Music ''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, ''The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. S ...

and

Matilda Matilda or Mathilda may refer to: Animals * Matilda (chicken) (1990–2006), World's Oldest Living Chicken record holder * Matilda (horse) (1824–1846), British Thoroughbred racehorse * Matilda, a dog of the professional wrestling tag-team The ...

(shown in 2014, 2016 and 2017).

Centre features

The footprint of the site is (approx 7 acres), and includes a large foyer area, a event arena, seven function rooms, car parking, logistic facilities and administrative offices. The arena is the largest

auditorium An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances. For movie theatres, the number of auditoria (or auditoriums) is expressed as the number of screens. Auditoria can be found in entertainment venues, community ...

in South Australia. The centre it is capable of operating in several different modes, including an 'intimate' mode (2,000–4,500 patrons), end stage mode (4,500–7,500 patrons) and '360-degree' mode. With a general admission floor and Corporate-level seating, the maximum capacity of the AEC of 11,300, making it the third-largest permanent indoor arena in Australia behind Sydney's

Qudos Bank Arena The Sydney SuperDome (currently known as the Qudos Bank Arena) is a large multipurpose arena located in Sydney, Australia. It is situated in Sydney Olympic Park, and was completed in 1999 as part of the facilities for the 2000 Summer Olympics ...

(21,032) and the

Brisbane Entertainment Centre The Brisbane Entertainment Centre is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in the Brisbane suburb of Boondall, Queensland, Australia. The centre is managed by ASM Global. The arena has an array of seating plans which facilitate the comfort of ...

(14,500), and the fifth-largest Australian arena behind the Sydney Super Dome (Qudos),

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 ...

Rod Laver Arena 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. History Replacing ...

(16,200), the Perth Arena (14,856) and the Brisbane Entertainment Centre (both the Rod Laver and Perth arenas are

retractable roof A retractable roof is a roof system designed to roll back the roof of a structure so that the interior of the facility is open to the outdoors. Retractable roofs are sometimes referred to as operable roofs or retractable skylights. The term op ...

venues). The AEC has a complete in-house catering operation that provides for audience food and beverage requirements, as well as banquet, function, seminar, tradeshow, corporate suites and backstage requirements. The AEC also provides corporate hospitality in the form of 31 suites that are leased on a 2–5-year basis.

Functions

The Adelaide Entertainment Centre holds various functions throughout the year for corporate clients and private hirers including gala banquets, dinners, breakfasts, conferences, weddings and wedding ceremonies. The Arena can accommodate a banquet for up to 1000 guests. The AEC is also home to the Revelations Chapel which is heritage listed and non-denominational. This venue can host both wedding ceremonies and functions.

Car parks

The Adelaide Entertainment Centre has more than 1,400 car park spaces available on site for concert-goers. Entry or exit is via Mary Street, Manton Street or Adam Street only. A$15 parking fee applies for event parking.

Transport

A tram service operates from Glenelg via the

, free of charge to and from the city. A taxi stand is situated on Port Road next to the main entrance of the AEC. Bus stops are located on Port Road and Manton Street (rear of the AEC). The

Bowden railway station Bowden railway station is located on the Grange and Outer Harbor lines. Situated in the inner-city Adelaide suburb of Bowden, it is 2.7 kilometres from Adelaide station. The station was rebuilt and reopened in January 2018, with the original ...

is located within a minute's walk from the main entrance of the AEC.

Ticketing

All tickets for concerts or events at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre can be purchased through Ticketek.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Adelaide 36ers Adelaide Thunderbirds 1991 establishments in Australia Sports venues in Adelaide Sports venues completed in 1991 Music venues in Australia Indoor arenas in Australia National Basketball League (Australia) venues Basketball venues in Australia Netball venues in South Australia Modernist architecture in Australia Boxing venues in Australia