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John Cain Arena is a multi-purpose sports and entertainment arena located within Melbourne Park in
Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...
,
Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...
, Australia. It is the second-largest venue and show court for the
Australian Open The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Ope ...
, the first Grand Slam professional
tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball cov ...
tournament held each calendar year. The arena also hosts various other sporting and entertainment events throughout the year. The arena has sometimes been dubbed "The People's Court" during Australian Open matches, due to its accessiblity for Australian Open patrons with a ground pass (i.e. the cheapest form of ticketing available) and the close proximity of spectators to the players, with the arena developing a reputation for being an incredibly passionate venue with a terrific atmosphere, particularly when Australians are playing on the court.


Naming rights

During construction, the project was referred to as the Melbourne Park Multi-Purpose Venue. When it opened in 2000, a sponsor was immediately assigned naming rights and it became known as the Vodafone Arena. This arrangement lasted for eight years. On 12 May 2008, it was announced that its name would change to Hisense Arena in a multimillion-dollar deal that was originally supposed to last six years. Meanwhile, temporarily throughout the
2006 Commonwealth Games The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006 (Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm 2006'' or ''Naarm 2006''), was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth held ...
, the Hisense Arena reverted to being called "Multi Purpose Venue" for the duration of the sporting event. In 2014 the naming contract with the multinational Hisense was extended for a further three years. Despite the contract ending at the conclusion of 2017, Hisense Arena remained the name of the venue for several more months, effectively for free. In August 2018, Tennis Australia announced it had bought the naming rights and had elected to call it Melbourne Arena, saying it preferred a non-commercial title "iconic with the city". The non-corporate name was to be in effect for five years, though the
Victorian Government The Victoria State Government, also referred to as just the Victorian Government, is the state-level authority for Victoria, Australia. Like all state governments, it is formed by three independent branches: the executive, the judicial, and t ...
and Tennis Australia did not rule out extending the arena's name beyond that period. On 3 February 2020, Victorian Premier
Daniel Andrews Daniel Michael Andrews (born 6 July 1972) is an Australian politician serving as the 48th and current premier of Victoria since December 2014. He has been the leader of the Victorian branch of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) since December ...
announced that the arena would be renamed "John Cain Arena" in honour of John Cain, Jr., the late State Premier of Victoria, who is regarded as a critical figure in keeping the
Australian Open The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Ope ...
in Melbourne in the mid 1980s. The new name came into effect in December 2020.


History

Construction commenced in the late 1990s, and was completed in 2000. The arena features a cycling track, which is covered over with seating for court events. The tennis court is a GreenSet surface (between 2008 and 2019 the surface was plexicushion) and the roof is retractable, making it one of the few venues where tennis can be played during rain. The venue is able to hold a maximum spectator capacity of 11,000 for events such as music concerts where general floor seating or standing room is available. For
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
,
netball Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...
and
tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball cov ...
the capacity is 10,500. When the velodrome is in use the northern and southern banks of seats, which cover the turns of the velodrome, are raised to reveal the track while the floor seating is removed leaving a reduced capacity of 4,500. The arena has been used for
netball Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...
for
Melbourne Phoenix Melbourne Phoenix were an Australian netball team that represented Netball Victoria in the Commonwealth Bank Trophy. Between 1997 and 2007, together with Melbourne Kestrels, they were one of two teams to represent Netball Victoria in the Commo ...
and Melbourne Kestrels games in the
Commonwealth Bank Trophy The Commonwealth Bank Trophy, also referred to as the National Netball League, was the top level national Australian netball league between 1997 and 2007. The league was organized by Netball Australia. Its main sponsor was the Commonwealth Ba ...
. Melbourne Phoenix and the Melbourne Kestrels played their last home game there before merging to become the
Melbourne Vixens Melbourne Vixens is an Australian netball team based in Melbourne, Victoria. Since 2017 they have represented Netball Victoria in Suncorp Super Netball. Between 2008 and 2016, they played in the ANZ Championship. The team was formed in 2007 wh ...
who used it for home games in the
ANZ Championship The ANZ Championship, also known as the Trans-Tasman Netball League, is a former netball league featuring teams from both Australia and New Zealand. Between 2008 and 2016, it was the top-level league in both countries. The competition was owned ...
until 2016. Since 2017 the Vixens and new team the Magpies use the arena in the National Netball League. The largest netball attendance at the arena was on 20 November 2004 when 10,300 saw the Australian national team defeat
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...
53 to 51. Following the renovation of the
Margaret Court Arena Margaret Court Arena is a multi-purpose sports and entertainment venue located in Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The arena, which was built in 1987 and redeveloped in the mid-2010s, has a capacity of 7,500. History Originally ...
as part of a A$363 million upgrade to Melbourne Park in time for the 2015 Australian Open, which included a retractable roof and an increase in capacity from 6,000 to 7,500, both
Melbourne United Melbourne United is an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne, Victoria. United compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at John Cain Arena. The team made their debut in the NBL in 1984 a ...
(formerly the Melbourne Tigers) and the Melbourne Vixens announced their intentions to move from the arena to the smaller capacity Margaret Court Arena (MCA) from 2015. However, Melbourne United abandoned their move to MCA after the
2015–16 NBL season The 2015–16 NBL season was the 38th season of competition since its establishment in 1979. A total of eight teams contested the league. The regular season was played between 7 October 2015 and 14 February 2016, followed by a post-season featuri ...
and continue to play their games at John Cain Arena, while the Vixens will continue to split their games between John Cain and Margaret Court Arenas, with John Cain used for games expected to attract a larger crowd.


Events


Australian Open

Every year, the venue hosts many matches as part of the
Australian Open The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Ope ...
tennis tournament. It has usually only been used for day matches in the first 10 days of the tournament. In 2012 the venue began hosting night matches during the first week of the tournament, at the same time as matches being played on the adjacent
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. History Replacing ...
. The first Australian Open match played at the venue was on 15 January 2001 and lasted less than ten minutes, when
Monica Seles Monica Seles (; hu, Széles Mónika, ; sr, Моника Селеш, Monika Seleš; born December 2, 1973) is a retired professional tennis player who represented Yugoslavia and the United States. A former world No. 1, she won nine Grand Sla ...
advanced to the second round after Brie Rippner was felled with injury in the second game of the match. The first match completed on the court was
Tim Henman Timothy Henry Henman (born 6 September 1974) is a British former professional tennis player. Henman played a serve-and-volley style of tennis. He was the first British man to reach the singles semifinals of Wimbledon since Roger Taylor in th ...
's first round win over
Hicham Arazi Hicham Arazi ( ar, هشام أرازي; born 19 October 1973) is a former male tennis player from Morocco. He played professionally from 1993 to the end of 2007. The left-hander reached his career-high ATP Tour singles ranking of world No. 22 o ...
.


Basketball

John Cain Arena is the main home court of National Basketball League (NBL) teams
Melbourne United Melbourne United is an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne, Victoria. United compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at John Cain Arena. The team made their debut in the NBL in 1984 a ...
and
South East Melbourne Phoenix The South East Melbourne Phoenix are an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne, Victoria. The Phoenix entered the National Basketball League (NBL) in the 2019–20 season. The team play the majority of their home games at Jo ...
. Formerly, the
Victoria Titans The Victoria Titans (known in its final two seasons as the Victoria Giants), were an Australian professional basketball team that competed in the National Basketball League (NBL). The club was based in Melbourne, Victoria. History The Titans ...
and
South Dragons The South Dragons were an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (NBL). They made their debut in the 2006/07 season and played their final season in 2008/09. The club was based at MSAC in Melbourne's in ...
used it as their home, until high rental prices forced the teams to find other venues. Until this move the venue was largely devoid of sporting events outside of the two weeks of the
Australian Open The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Ope ...
tournament held each January. The Dragons, founded in 2006 until they withdrew from the competition after winning the championship in 2009, played three seasons at the arena. For the
2012–13 NBL season The 2012–13 NBL season was the 35th season of competition since its establishment in 1979. A total of eight teams contested the league. The regular season was played between 5 October 2012 and 24 March 2013, followed by a post-season which invo ...
, the Tigers (now renamed
Melbourne United Melbourne United is an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne, Victoria. United compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at John Cain Arena. The team made their debut in the NBL in 1984 a ...
) returned to the venue, and played 7 of their 13 home games at the arena. They later shifted all home matches to the venue. The Phoenix, who made their debut in the
2019–20 NBL season The 2019–20 NBL season was the 42nd season of the National Basketball League since its establishment in 1979. Teams Nine teams competed in the 2019–20 Season with the addition of South East Melbourne Phoenix. Off-season changes *Th ...
, share their home with John Cain Arena and the
State Basketball Centre The State Basketball Centre is a sports arena located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia which is mainly used for basketball. However, the centre has been used for several other events. The stadium features six courts, including one basketball s ...
in
Wantirna South Wantirna South is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 25 km east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Knox local government area. Wantirna South recorded a population of 20,754 at the 2021 census. W ...
. The largest basketball crowd was on 4 December 2016 during the
2016–17 NBL season The 2016–17 NBL season was the 39th season of the National Basketball League since its establishment in 1979. A total of eight teams contested the league. The regular season was played between October 2016 and February 2017, followed by a pos ...
when 10,300 fans saw Melbourne United defeat the
New Zealand Breakers The New Zealand Breakers (also known as the Sky Sport Breakers for sponsorship reasons) are a New Zealand professional basketball team based in Auckland. The Breakers compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at ...
98–74. This broke the previous basketball attendance record of 9,308 set in 2008 in a local derby game between the South Dragons and Melbourne Tigers. The venue co-hosted the
2007 FIBA Oceania Championship The FIBA Oceania Championship for Men 2007 was the qualifying tournament of FIBA Oceania for the men's basketball tournament at the 2008 Summer Olympics at Beijing. The tournament, a best-of-three series between Australia and New Zealand, was ...
where the Australian national basketball team won the gold medal. John Cain Arena has also hosted several
Harlem Globetrotters The Harlem Globetrotters are an American exhibition basketball team. They combine athleticism, theater, and comedy in their style of play. Created in 1926 by Tommy Brookins in Chicago, Illinois, the team adopted the name ''Harlem'' because of ...
Exhibition Games during their tours of Australia.


Netball

Netball is played regularly at the venue. It is the home court of the
Melbourne Vixens Melbourne Vixens is an Australian netball team based in Melbourne, Victoria. Since 2017 they have represented Netball Victoria in Suncorp Super Netball. Between 2008 and 2016, they played in the ANZ Championship. The team was formed in 2007 wh ...
and
Collingwood Magpies The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed the Magpies or colloquially the Pies, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. The club w ...
in the
Suncorp Super Netball Suncorp Super Netball is the top level netball league featuring teams from Australia. In 2017 it replaced the ANZ Championship, which also included teams from New Zealand, as the top level netball league in Australia. Since 2019, the league has ...
competition. The
Australian Diamonds The Australia national netball team, also known as the Australian Diamonds, represent Netball Australia in international netball tournaments such as the INF Netball World Cup, the Commonwealth Games, the Constellation Cup, the Netball Quad Ser ...
sometime play home international fixtures at the venue. The venue also hosted the
2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...
,
2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...
and
2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
Fast5 Netball World Series The Fast5 Netball World Series is an international Fast5 netball competition that was contested for the first time in October 2009. The new competition features modified Fast5 rules, and has been likened to Twenty20 cricket and rugby sevens. The ...
.


Commonwealth Games

During the
2006 Commonwealth Games The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006 (Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm 2006'' or ''Naarm 2006''), was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth held ...
the stadium was used for basketball and other sports. Its name was changed to Multi-Purpose Venue with all Vodafone-related signage covered over with black shrouds because
Telstra Telstra Group Limited is an Australian telecommunications company that builds and operates telecommunications networks and markets voice, mobile, internet access, pay television and other products and services. It is a member of the S&P/ASX 2 ...
, a competitor of Vodafone, was a major sponsor of the games.


Cycling

In
2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight ...
and
2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...
, the
UCI Track Cycling World Championships The UCI Track Cycling World Championships are the set of world championship events for the various disciplines and distances in track cycling. They are regulated by the Union Cycliste Internationale. Before 1900, they were administered by the UCI ...
were held at the venue. Other events were UCI World Cup events and Australian Madison Championships.


Ice hockey

On 14 and 15 June 2013, the venue played host to an
ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice ...
exhibition series between teams representing the United States and Canada.Showbiz Sport comes to Melbourne
/ref>


Entertainment

The arena hosts several musical and entertainment events each year, in concert with other venues in the precinct. On 26 February 2007, Irish boy band
Westlife Westlife is an Irish pop vocal group formed in Dublin, Ireland in 1998. The group currently consists of members Shane Filan, Mark Feehily, Kian Egan, and Nicky Byrne. Brian McFadden was a member, until he left in 2004. The group temporar ...
held a concert for
The Love Tour The Love Tour was a tour by the Irish band Westlife seen by 390,000 fans. The tour started in Australia, and covered Africa and UK in 2007. The tour had a subtotal of £1,031,033 gross secondary ticket sales. Support acts *Code 5 *Cushh *Dyyc ...
supporting their LP '' The Love Album''. On 18 September 2018, Taiwanese vocal pop band
Mayday Mayday is an emergency procedure word used internationally as a distress signal in voice-procedure radio communications. It is used to signal a life-threatening emergency primarily by aviators and mariners, but in some countries local organiz ...
held a concert for
Life Tour The Life Tour was the tenth concert tour by Taiwanese-band Mayday, in support of the band’s ninth studio album '' History of Tomorrow'' (2016). The tour began on March 18, 2017 in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, and concluded on January 6, 2019 in Taichu ...
supporting their album
History of Tomorrow ''History of Tomorrow'' () is Taiwanese Mandopop rock band Mayday's ninth studio album, 5 years since ''Second Round''. The first Single,"Party Animal", was released on May 20. It was released on July 21, 2016. Promotion Tour They first an ...
. From 2011 to 2013 the venue hosted the Melbourne judges' audition stages of the
Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, and is one of ...
singer search program ''
The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...
''. Its also been the home to the Victorian State Schools Spectacular since 2008.


See also

*
List of sports venues named after individuals The following is a list of sports venues named after individuals: Albania * Qemal Stafa Stadium in Tirana * Loro Boriçi Stadium in Shkodër * Ruzhdi Bizhuta Stadium in Elbasan * Selman Stërmasi Stadium in Tirana * Niko Dovana Stadium in Durr ...
*
List of tennis stadiums by capacity The following is a list of notable tennis stadiums by capacity, that is the maximum number of spectators they can regularly accommodate. Notes: * Stadiums ordered by their capacity (if equal, by the first stadium to reach the capacity) * Some o ...
*
List of indoor arenas in Australia This is a list of indoor arenas in Australia. Indoor arenas *Total capacity shown. In some cases this may differ from seating capacity. • Retractable roof venues * Temporary tenants See also * List of Australian Football League grounds * Li ...


References


External links


Official website

John Cain Arena
at Austadiums {{navboxes, list= {{Melbourne landmarks {{Melbourne United {{South East Melbourne Phoenix {{Melbourne Vixens {{Collingwood Magpies Netball {{NBL Arenas {{Netball venues in Australia {{Grand Slam Tournaments Venues , state=autocollapse 2000 establishments in Australia Sports venues completed in 2000 Sports venues in Melbourne Retractable-roof stadiums in Australia National Basketball League (Australia) venues Basketball venues in Australia Netball venues in Victoria (Australia) Velodromes in Australia Boxing venues in Australia Tennis venues in Australia Indoor arenas in Australia Melbourne Vixens Collingwood Magpies Netball Melbourne United South Dragons South East Melbourne Phoenix Sport in the City of Melbourne (LGA) Buildings and structures in the City of Melbourne (LGA) 2006 Commonwealth Games venues Track cycling at the 2006 Commonwealth Games
Arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectator ...