Biggest basketball stadiums in Australia
Australia features many impressive indoor arenas for basketball, and we look at the biggest and best stadiums that host the sport around the country.
The National Basketball League (NBL) in Australia is widely regarded as one of the most elite basketball leagues in the world, behind the NBA, and there are many numerous high-profile venues that host the action. In fact, in recent years, a number of NBL teams have relocated to newer and larger stadiums to cope with the increased interest in the sport.
The NBL’s increased profile has coincided with an increase in betting around the world on Australia’s domestic basketball competition. You can check out some of the top-rated online betting sites at askbettors.com/bookmakers to compare and bet on basketball.
In this article, we only feature stadiums with a 10,000+ capacity that are regularly used for basketball in Australia, skipping some impressive venues that haven’t hosted the sport for some time, like Rod Laver Arena and the Brisbane Entertainment Centre, and one-off venues like Marvel Stadium which hosted a two-game series between the Boomers and Team USA in 2019, both of which attracted in excess of 50,000 fans. Venues are listed in no particular order.
RAC Arena – Perth
The impressive RAC Arena in Perth (pictured above) opened in 2012 and has a capacity of 14,500 seats. As home of the Perth Wildcats, it is often filled to capacity by the teams’ passionate fans. The stadium features a retractable roof which opens for the annual ATP Cup tennis tournament, held at the arena each January. Most seats are on a single level, with an additional three levels extending at one end.
John Cain Arena – Melbourne
Formerly known as Melbourne Arena, this 10,300-capacity venue is located within Melbourne Park and is one of the most-utilised stadiums in the country. That is also true in the NBL, where it is home of both Melbourne United and South East Melbourne Phoenix. This venue also has a retractable roof and it’s the only venue which opens up for at least one basketball game each year which is an incredible sight. The arena is used for the Australian Open tennis each January and also features a velodrome to allow it to host cycling events.
Qudos Bank Arena – Sydney
This Sydney venue was built for the Olympics in 2000 and is the closest what Australia has to an NBA-quality venue, boasting a seating capacity of almost 18,000. Home of the Sydney Kings since 2016, the venue has the biggest centrehung LED video screen of any indoor stadium in the southern hemisphere, using 180 portable LED panels for the eight main displays. The arena also holds the record for the biggest NBL crowd of all time, with 17,514 attending the Kings v Hawks match in 2019. Pictured at the top of this article.
Adelaide Entertainment Centre
The multi-purpose Entertainment Centre in Adelaide has become a regular basketball venue since 2019 when NBL team the 36ers moved to the inner-city venue to boost their home game attendances. With 10,000 seats, the move has paid dividends for the club as crowds have improved significantly.
While Australia has some impressive basketball stadiums with over 10,000 seats, it also has many smaller venues which host NBL games, such as the Cairns Convention Centre (5345), Nissan Arena (5000) and Bendigo Stadium (4000) which offer a more intimate atmosphere for fans.
You can view a full list of basketball stadiums around Australia and New Zealand on Austadiums here.
