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.
For the tennis player whom this venue is named after, see Rod Laver.Full name
Rod Laver Arena at Melbourne Park
National Tennis Centre at Flinders Park (1988–1996)
Centre Court (1996–2000)
Melbourne and Olympic Park Trust
14,820[2]
16,183 – Justin Timberlake, 18 November 2007
GreenSet (tennis)
Hardwood (basketball)
1985
11 January 1988
1995
Lendlease (formerly Civil & Civic)
Features[edit]
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 14,200 for concerts with floor seating.[10] The arena currently attracts over 1.5 million visitors per year.
The arena was the first tennis venue in the world and the first arena of any kind in Australia to have a retractable roof installed. The idea for such a roof came about at the suggestion of John Cain, the premier of Victoria around 1980, who came up with the compromise idea after Tennis Australia requested the government to build an open-air tennis facility next to a preexisting government project to build a closed-roof entertainment centre.[11]
The Rod Laver Arena 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.
Rod Laver Arena is equipped with the Hawk-Eye Live line-calling system which has been used in place of line judges since the 2021 Australian Open.
