The WEC / The Sandpit | |
Former names | Wollongong Entertainment Centre |
---|---|
Location | Corner of Crown & Harbour Streets, Wollongong, NSW 2520 |
Coordinates | 34°25′36″S150°54′10″E / 34.42667°S 150.90278°E Coordinates: 34°25′36″S150°54′10″E / 34.42667°S 150.90278°E |
Owner | Venues NSW |
Capacity | Basketball: 6,000 [1] Concerts: 5,000 Reduced mode: 1,000-3,000 |
Record attendance | 5,839 – 18 February 2005, Wollongong Hawks vs Sydney Kings NBL |
Surface | Customisable |
Construction | |
Opened | 5 September 1998 |
Architect | NSW Government Architect |
Tenants | |
Illawarra Hawks (NBL) (1998–present) |
Wollongong Entertainment Centre (also known by its naming rights sponsor WIN Entertainment Centre and colloquially as the WEC) is a multi-purpose indoor arena, located in Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia.
The WEC opened on 5 September 1998 with a concert by Bob Dylan and Patti Smith; 4,935 people attended the event. Dylan performed at the venue again in 2011, performing to a crowd of 3,214 people, and again in 2018.
The arena is 3 minutes walk from the city centre and has hosted a variety of events including Federation Cup tennis, world championship boxing and international musical acts.
Every year the WIN Entertainment Centre holds the Wakakirri Story Dance Wollongong heat, Southern Stars and also a variety of concerts and expos.
The building was designed by the New South Wales Government Architect.
The venue is the home of the Illawarra Hawks who play in the Australasian-based National Basketball League (NBL). During Hawks games it is referred to as "The Sandpit" in reference to being next to the beach. It is also a play on name of the Hawks former home, the Beaton Park Stadium, which was commonly known as "The Snakepit". The Hawks are the only original club left in the NBL.
The record attendance for an event at the WIN Centre is 5,839, set on 18 February 2005, when the Hawks played their regular season finale against the Sydney Kings.
The naming rights to both facilities are owned by WIN Corporation, a Wollongong-based media company which owns the television network, WIN.
The Sydney Kings are an Australian men's professional basketball team competing in the National Basketball League (NBL). The team is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The Kings were formed from a merger between the West Sydney Westars and the Sydney Supersonics in October 1987. They were the first team to win three consecutive championships in the NBL and currently sit third alongside the Adelaide 36ers and New Zealand Breakers for championships won, behind Melbourne United (six) and the Perth Wildcats (ten). The Kings play their home games at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney Olympic Park.
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The Brisbane Bullets are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (NBL) based in Brisbane, Queensland. They competed from 1979 to 2008, and returned to the league in 2016. Brisbane were one of ten NBL foundation teams and have won three NBL championships, being successful in the 1985 and 1987 seasons, and again in 2007. They also competed in the 1984, 1986 and 1990 grand finals. The team reached the playoffs 21 times in their illustrious 30-year history.
Sydney Entertainment Centre was a multi-purpose arena located in Haymarket, Sydney, Australia. It opened in May 1983, to replace Sydney Stadium, which had been demolished in 1970 to make way for the Eastern Suburbs railway line. The centre was owned by the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority, which administered the neighbouring Darling Harbour area, and managed under a lease.
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Derwent Entertainment Centre, also known as the DEC and known commercially as MyState Bank Arena, is the largest indoor arena in Tasmania and the multi-purpose arena is the primary venue in Hobart for large indoor functions/events. It was constructed in 1989 and is situated in between the waterfront of the River Derwent, the Brooker Highway and Tattersalls Park.
The Adelaide 36ers, also known as the Sixers, are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (NBL). The 36ers are the only team in the league representing the state of South Australia and are based in the state's capital of Adelaide. The club was originally called the Adelaide City Eagles when they joined the NBL in 1982, but changed their name to the 36ers the following year. The 36ers nickname comes from the fact that the Colony of South Australia was officially proclaimed on 28 December 1836. Since 2019, the 36ers play their home games at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre.
The Sydney SuperDome is a large multipurpose arena located in Sydney, Australia. It is situated in Sydney Olympic Park, and was completed in 1999 as part of the facilities for the 2000 Summer Olympics.
The Adelaide Entertainment Centre (AEC) is an indoor arena located in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. It is used for sporting and entertainment events. It is the principal venue for concerts, events and attractions for audiences between 1,000 and 11,300.
Spark Arena is a multipurpose arena in Auckland, New Zealand. The venue is located at Quay Park, Parnell, very close to Britomart Transport Centre and The Strand Station. The arena cost approximately $94 million, and of this sum ratepayers contributed $68 million for the facility to be managed by QPAM, the NZ operator, in New Zealand's first big public-private partnership. This runs for 40 years before ownership is transferred to the city.
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AIS Arena is a multi-purpose arena in Canberra, Australia. Its capacity is 5,200 and it was built in 1980. The arena was opened by the Prime Minister of Australia, Malcolm Fraser, on 26 January 1981 and was originally named the National Indoor Sports Centre and was the inaugural home of the Australian Institute of Sport.
The Illawarra Hawks is an Australian professional basketball team based in Wollongong, New South Wales. The Illawarra Hawks compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at WIN Entertainment Centre, known colloquially as "The Sandpit". The Illawarra Hawks are the only remaining NBL team to have competed in every season since the league's inception in 1979. The team won their first and so far only NBL Championship in 2001 and finished as runners-up in 2005, 2010 and 2017.
The Melbourne Sports and Entertainment Centre is a sports administration and training facility located in the Melbourne Sports and Entertainment Precinct in Melbourne, Australia. The facility opened in 1956 as an aquatic centre for the 1956 Olympic Games. In 1983, the Olympic-sized pool was replaced with a parquetry floor and the facility became Melbourne's home of numerous basketball events until 1998, most notably as the home venue for several National Basketball League teams including the North Melbourne Giants and Melbourne Tigers. The venue served as Melbourne's primary indoor concert arena from 1984 to 1988, until completion of the Rod Laver Arena.
The State Sports Centre is a multi-use indoor arena in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia and was opened in November 1984. With a total of 3,854 fixed and retractable seats the main arena is a focal point of the Sydney Olympic Park Sports Centre. An additional 1,152 portable seats can be accommodated on the floor level to bring seated capacity to 5,006.
Perth Arena is an entertainment and sporting arena in the city centre of Perth, Western Australia, used mostly for basketball matches. It is located on Wellington Street near the site of the former Perth Entertainment Centre, and was officially opened on 10 November 2012. Perth Arena is the first stage of the Perth City Link, a 13.5-hectare (33-acre) major urban renewal and redevelopment project which involves the sinking of the Fremantle railway line to link the Perth central business district directly with Northbridge.
John Cain Arena is a multi-purpose sports and entertainment arena located within Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is the second-largest venue and show court for the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam professional tennis tournament held each calendar year. The arena also hosts various other sporting and entertainment events throughout the year.
Basketball Illawarra is the governing body of basketball in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia and is based in the city of Wollongong. The club fields both men's and women's teams in state representative conceptions including the semi-professional basketball competition the NBL1 East who compete as the 'Illawarra Hawks'.