Ok I know there are other threads here about the Adelaide Arena (as its now called) but I'm not going to go searching and bumping any just for this. Not here to proclaim how good the place is or anything like that. Just showing some of the photo's I have taken there in both last season and so far in 2011-12.


Adelaide Arena 001 by HoldenV8, on Flickr


Adelaide Arena 002 by HoldenV8, on Flickr

Rarely seen in photo's of the arena, the southern upper concourse. The cheapest (and often best IMO) seats in the house. You get a great view from there.

Adelaide Arena 004 by HoldenV8, on Flickr

One of the Adelaide Arena's only real (inside) faults, its antiquated above court scoreboard (the other fault is the PA system. Sit anywhere other than in line with the court sidelines and good luck trying to make out what anyone with the mic is saying).

Adelaide Arena 010 by HoldenV8, on Flickr


Adelaide Arena 018 by HoldenV8, on Flickr

Two of the Adelaide 36ers "Retired Numbers". #5 Brett Maher and #33 Mark Davis

Adelaide Arena 023 by HoldenV8, on Flickr

Members of Adelaide's 1986 NBL Championship Team (voted by the NBL in 2011 as the best NBL team of all time)
#4 Darryl Pearce, #8 Peter Ali, #15 Al Green, #10 Mike McKay and #6 Scott Ninnis

Adelaide Arena 021 by HoldenV8, on Flickr

New for the 2011-12 NBL season is the "RAA Lounge". About 124 seats are moved back to make room for the lounge which is located between the two dressing room races.

Adelaide Arena 024 by HoldenV8, on Flickr

Adelaide 36ers NBL Championship banners hanging in the arena (the Adelaide Lightning have their WNBL Championship banners in the arena also and I'll post those at a later date when I have them)
1986, 1998, 1998-99, 2001-02

Adelaide Arena 025 by HoldenV8, on Flickr

Ta.

The bottom tier in 004 is retractable, I udnerstand. There's a second court there?

The RAA lounge is a good idea if they don't need the seats. Sydney Uni Flames have something similar.

The RAA Lounge actually takes away 176 seats and replaces them with 6 tables each seating 6 people. So, if they want to be technical, the capacity for Adelaide 36ers games this season is only 7,860.

Jeffles.....not my photo (from the official website) but this I think shows what you're referring to. For reference, the photo was taken above where the RAA Lounge now sits with the arena's dressing rooms (in this case specifically Adelaide's) below where the photographer stood. Directly behind the photographer for this one is the main entrance of the venue leading to the car park (which does NOT have a motorcycle parking area.....that and the grass parking area are the only other faults of the place). The photographer is on the western side of the arena facing east, to the left of the photo is the southern side of the arena which obviously means the north is to the right.

With the seats retracted total floor space is 2190 sqm (42m x 53m).


Adelaide Arena 025 by HoldenV8, on Flickr

Funny thing is, I probably spent more time here in my childhood than at Football Park. For some reason I remember this place being much bigger than what it looks like in photos

So both sides retract.

Do these guys host other stuff like concerts? If you could remove the flooring it would be good for a rave.

Both sides of the court retract to reveal two practice basketball courts. With the possible exception of the east section of the bowl and the corners, the lower bowl was designed to retract revealing a much larger floor space. The basketball courts, lower bowl and dressing rooms are all below street level. The arena was built 5m into the ground to give a lower profile and spectators enter at the concourse level of the arena.

As far as I know the arena has not yet held a concert though it would be easily set up for one with the north seats retracted and the stage set up there. All concerts in Adelaide, depending on the demand for tickets are held at the Entertainment Centre, Thebarton Theatre or outside at usually either AAMI Stadium, the Adelaide Oval or Memorial Drive. The Powerhouse/Dome/Arena was opened in 1992, a year after the Entertainment Centre opened so there has never been any need to host a concert. I've always thought they should but why they don't is beyond me. Maybe it has something to do with zoning and what they are allowed to do there. Concerts may not be something they can legally hold, I don't know (wish I did). Even with the north seats moved back they could still pack 7-8,000 into the place for a concert.

IIRC when the idea arose about replacing the old 3,000 seat Apollo Stadium in the late 1980's not only because Adelaide was struggling to attract top music acts but because there was more than twice the demand for 36ers tickets than Apollo could hold there was a fair amount of talk around the place that the new Entertainment Centre was the only venue going to be built with the 36ers playing games there. Basketball SA however and the Adelaide 36ers were adamant that they wanted their own venue, thus Adelaide had the 11,000 seat Ent Centre open in 1992 and the 8,000 seat Powerhouse open in 1992. Its worked out well obviously because there has never been a schedule conflict.

Wasn't there an issue when the 36ers or Basketball SA had real money problems? IIRC they were thinking of selling the venue.

Looking at their website they do not mentioon concerts so it may be a zoning thing. But they do hold themselves out to be a venue for exhibitions and functions, which they'd need to. A building that size would be damn expensive to maintain. Relying on NBL only would be too risky.

The 36ers had the backing of a financial white knight recently. The problem is, the white knight ended up being a (convicted) Flinders University employee that siphoned something like $25 million out of the uni's treasury.

Just some more from my collection of the Adelaide Arena

The southern upper concourse.

Adelaide Arena 026 by HoldenV8, on Flickr


Adelaide Arena 027 by HoldenV8, on Flickr

I'm rather bummed actually. My car was off the road and I was going to go to the 36ers vs Taipans game on Saturday (7 January) on my motorbike when the rain hit and I decided discretion was the better part of having an accident and stayed home. Even though Adelaide lost I'm bummed I missed the opportunity to take photo's with over 6,000 fans in the building.

Spewing

Adelaide Arena is a great venue, will have to go back to it again. Last match was the Brad Maher Testimonial Game when I was living there...

Missed that one too.....