Westpac Arena

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Westpac Arena
The Woolshed, The Horseshoe
Location	Addington, Christchurch, New Zealand
Opened	1998
Owner	Vbase
Former names	Westpac Centre, Westpactrust Centre
Tenants	1999 Netball World Championships Canterbury Tactix (ANZ Championship) (2008-present)
Capacity	7,200 for sports, 8,888 for concerts.

Westpac Arena formerly known as the Westpac Centre and before that the WestpacTrust Centre is a sporting and entertainment arena located in Addington, Christchurch, New Zealand.

The Westpac Arena is New Zealand's second largest indoor arena with a maximum capacity of 8,888 (depending on event type), it was the largest until the construction of Auckland's Vector Arena in 2007. The indoor stadium is capable of hosting concerts, exhibitions and various sporting events. Provision for international sport and traditional indoor arena events has been integrated into the design requirements.

The Westpac Arena has over 7200 seats for sporting fixtures or, in the concert configuration, the seating can increase to over 8,888.

The Sports and Entertainment complex is located adjacent to Addington Raceway in South West Christchurch surrounded by 3000 car parks. The complex is only 10 minutes from the central business district

Westpac Arena has been affectionately dubbed 'The Woolshed' by Canterbury Rams basketball fans. Some Christchurch citizens colloquially refer to the arena as the horseshoe, due to its unusual architectural exterior design.

Australian and New Zealand bank, Westpac, currently holds the naming rights to the stadium, as well as other stadiums and theatres throughout New Zealand.

1 History
2 Current tenants
3 Events
4 Name Change
5 External links
6 Notes

[edit] History

The arena opened in September 1998 at a cost of NZ$32 Million. In the first ever sporting match at Westpac Arena, the Canterbury Rams basketball team suffered a close loss to the Wellington Saints 86-81 in April 1999.

The Westpac Arena was built for two main reasons: primarily for the 1999 Netball World Cup in Christchurch, and also because Christchurch was missing out on many concerts and other attractions, because it did not have a suitable indoor arena in the city.

[edit] Current tenants

Canterbury Rams 1999-2007 ^[1]
Canterbury Flames 2002-2007
Canterbury Tactix 2008-Present

[edit] Events

[edit] Sporting

Since its opening the Westpac Arena has been host to a number of different sporting events. These Include home matches for the Canterbury Rams (Basketball) and Canterbury Tactix (Netball) teams. The Westpac Arena occasionally hosts international Basketball and Netball fixtures featuring the Tall Blacks and Silver Ferns respectively. It was also the host of the 1999 Netball World Championships.

It has also been host to a lot of non-regular sporting events. These include various Celebrity Tennis Matches, Ice Shows, Disabled Games, Karate Championships and Gymnastics Competitions.

[edit] Concerts

The Westpac Arena has been host to many different concerts since it Opened. Most Notably in the Last few Years Bryan Adams, Neil Diamond, Velvet Revolver, 50 Cent, R.E.M. and Rod Stewart just to name a few.

On May 22, 2007, Guns N' Roses were announced to play their last New Zealand show at The Westpac Arena, as a part of their Chinese Democracy World Tour 2007.

On November 25, 2007 Muse played Christchurch at the Westpac Arena on their last show of their Australasian (and eventually, as Bangkok was cancelled, world) tour.

On March 24, 2008, Smashing Pumpkins played at the Westpac Arena with Queens of The Stone Age as a support act.

On May 7, 2008, Westlife played at the Westpac Arena

[edit] Other Uses

The Westpac Arena also pays a key part of the Christchurch economy by being the host to regular annual trade shows. Some of which include the Christchurch Home Show, Women's Lifestyle Expo, The Christchurch Boat Show and the South Island gift Fare.

It is also managed by the same company that manages the Christchurch Convention Centre and plays an important part of hosting major conferences in cooperation with the convention centre. The combined facilities regularly host a variety of different conferences for up to 2500 people. It has been a frequent host for the New Zealand annual Tourism conference known as T.R.E.N.Z..

In 1999, the arena was used to stage the Disney on Ice production. In June 2008 the Westpac Arena is host to Disney's High School Musical on Ice tour, which will be only the second time that ice has been used on the Arena floor.

The venue is also used for big gala dinners, lunches, balls and cocktail parties.

[edit] Name Change

At Midday Thursday 1st March 2007 The Westpac Centre was officially renamed the Westpac Arena, along with getting a brand new Website.

[edit] External links

http://www.vbase.co.nz - Venue manager for the Westpac Arena. Lists upcoming events and allows you to take a virtual tour of the Arena.
Naming rights holder