Melbourne Park

Rod Laver Arena

Capacity: 14,820 (approx)
Record Crowd: 15,366 – South East Melbourne Magic vs Melbourne Tigers (June 22^nd, 1996)
Home Teams:

• Australian Open (Tennis)

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.

Replacing the aging Kooyong Stadium, construction on the arena began in 1985 and was completed in 1987 at a cost of AU$94 million. It opened on 11 January 1988 for the 1988 Australian Open.

Originally known in 1988 as the National Tennis Centre at Flinders Park, the arena has officially changed its name twice. First in 1996, when it was known as the Centre Court, and again on 16 January 2000 to honour Rod Laver, a three-time winner of the Australian Open and one of the world’s greatest tennis players.

Rod Laver Arena has a seating capacity of 14,820, with a capacity of 15,400 for sports such as basketball, when extra seats are added around the court, and up to 16,200 for concerts with floor seating. The arena currently attracts over 1.5 million visitors per year.

The arena was the first in Australia to have a retractable roof installed, and it is the largest indoor arena in Australia without a permanent roof (not counting the 56,347 seat Docklands Stadium, also in Melbourne, which is classed as a stadium rather than an arena). It is also the second largest indoor arena in Australia behind the 21,032 capacity Sydney Super Dome. The arena’s retractable roof allows competitors to continue play during rain or extreme heat.

Tennis Surface

From 1988 until 2007, the surface of the court at the Australian Open and on Rod Laver Arena was Rebound 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 to Plexicushion, which is coloured blue. The surface is similar in properties to DecoTurf, the surface used in the US Open. This has more cushioning and more “give” than Rebound Ace. The change of surfaces gained a mostly positive reaction from players, as the surface is said to be easier to play on than Rebound Ace.

Melbourne Arena

Capacity: 10,500 (approx)
Record Crowd: 10,300 – Melbourne United vs New Zealand Breakers (December 4^th, 2016)
Home Teams:

• Melbourne United (NBL)
• Melbourne Vixens (ANZ/NNL)
• Collingwood Magpies (NNL)
• Australian Open (Tennis)

Melbourne Arena is an Australian sporting venue with a retractable roof that is part of the National Tennis Centre at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Victoria.

The venue is primarily used for Melbourne United’s home games in the National Basketball League, Melbourne Vixens and Collingwood Magpies (netball) and also the tennis Australian open. It also holds occasional events such Ice Hockey, Cycling and live music.

Margaret Court Arena

Capacity: 7,500 (approx)
Record Crowd: 10,300 – Melbourne United vs New Zealand Breakers (December 4^th, 2016)
Home Teams:

• Australian Open (tennis)
• Melbourne Vixens (netball)

Originally named Show Court One, the venue was opened in 1988, the year the Australian Open tennis championships moved from Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club to Melbourne Park. The show court had a capacity of 6,000 people and was renamed to Margaret Court Arena in early 2003, as a tribute to Australia’s most successful female tennis player.

In March 2012, development began to upgrade the arena in order to combat extreme heat issues throughout the Australian Open. The redevelopment made the arena the third in the precinct to have a retractable roof and increased the stadium capacity from 6,000 to 7,500 seats. The redevelopment was completed in January 2015, prior to that month’s Australian Open. The arena is the third largest capacity venue at the Australian Open tournament, behind the 15,000 capacity Rod Laver Arena (centre court) and the 10,500 seat Melbourne Arena.

In to various sporting events, Margaret Court Arena also hosts a number of concerts, ensuring Melbourne has a third indoor entertainment venue, all of which are located within Melbourne Park and feature retractable roofing. The arena has played host to artists such as Bob Dylan, The Black Keys and Wu-Tang Clan to name a few.

In addition to these main three arenas, Melbourne Park features a multitude of show courts, outside courts and both indoor and outdoor practice courts to accommodate the amount of tennis matches throughout the Australian Open. These are also available to hire while the tournament is not being held.