TSB Bank Arena

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TSB Bank Arena

Location	Wellington, New Zealand
Opened	1995
Owner	Wellington City Council
Architect	Craig Craig & Moller
Former names	Queens Wharf Events Centre
Tenants	Central Pulse, Wellington Saints
Capacity	4,650 (fully seated) 5,600 (general admission) [1]

The TSB Bank Arena, formerly known as the Queens Wharf Events Centre[2], is an indoor arena located in Wellington, New Zealand. The arena hosts mainly basketball games and is the part-time home arena of the New Zealand Breakers when they play in Wellington, but also hosts expositions and conventions like the Armageddon Pulp Expo and the DCM Book Fair. Built in 1995, it originally held 3,635 people. In 2005, the number of seats was upgraded to 4,570 as part of a redevelopment and expansion plan. There are further plans to carry out upgrades to the Events Centre in 2007. [3]

It also operates as a music venue, but does not have ideal acoustics and professional sound treatment; for example, the retractable stadium traps all reflections (early and late) also acting as a bass trap (wanted or unwanted), thus impairing a clear sound. But as a live venue, it is still able attract overseas acts, such as from its past, Faith No More, Live, Radiohead, Metallica and more recently Hi-5 (Australian Kids' Band), Edgefest (New Zealand concert tour), Deep Purple, Kings of Leon and Westlife.

In 2005, the annual Montana World of WearableArt (WOW) Awards Show moved from Nelson to Wellington, to the TSB Bank Arena.

In a feature article from the 11 April 2007 edition of the Dominion Post, the Wellington Architectural Centre rated TSB Arena as Wellington's 2nd worst building. [4]