Rod Laver Arena Information

Rod Laver Arena is a multipurpose arena located in Melbourne Park, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The venue has served as the main venue for the Australian Open, which is part of the first Grand Slam Tennis tournament of the year. In addition, it’s played host to a variety of other special events over its storied history.

History

The Venue was built to replace the then aging Kooyong Stadium so that Melbourne could host events with more modern amenities. Construction on this new arena began in 1985 and was completed in 1987 at an estimated cost of about AU$94 Million. It then opened to the public on January 11, 1988 for the 1988 Australian Open.

The venue was named to honor Rod Laver, a three time Australian Open winner who’s also renowned as a GOAT of Tennis.

Features

The arena has a maximum capacity for 14,820 fans for most events, but can be expanded to allow up to 15,400 fans for other events, including basketball. Currently, the beauty and versatility of the arena attracts over an estimated 1.5 million visitors per year.

What stands out about Rod Laver Arena is that it was the first tennis venue in the world and the first arena of any kind in Australia to be built with a retractable roof. This innovation came about as a suggestion by John Cain, the premier of Victoria around 1980. This came after Tennis Australia requested the government to build an open air tennis facility next to a preexisting government project. 

To date, Rod Laver Arena is the largest arena in Australia without a permanent roof, not including Docklands Stadium. It is also the second largest indoor arena in Australia behind only the 21,032 capacity Sydney Super Dome. The retractable roof allows play to continue during rain or extreme heat preventing weather related shutouts and upsets.

It’s also equipped with the Hawk Eye electronic system that allows tennis players to challenge umpire decisions throughout the championships with pinpoint and unquestioned accuracy.

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