Spark Arena (also known as Auckland City Arena, and formerly as Vector Arena) is a multipurpose arena in
Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
, New Zealand. The venue is located at Quay Park,
Parnell, very close to
Britomart Transport Centre and
The Strand Station
The Strand Station, also referred to as Auckland Strand Station, is a railway station located on the eastern edge of the Auckland CBD. It serves as the long-distance railway station for Auckland. It is the northern terminus of the Northern Ex ...
. 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.
![Spark Arena](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9b/Spark_Arena.jpg)
After delays due to construction-related issues, the arena's first concert was
Rock Star Supernova
Rock Star Supernova was a reality television-formed supergroup consisting of drummer Tommy Lee, bassist Jason Newsted, guitarist Gilby Clarke, and singer Lukas Rossi. The band was formed during the second season of the '' Rock Star'' reality te ...
on 24 March 2007.
Name
During planning and construction, the venue was called Auckland City Arena.
Vector Limited
Vector Limited is an electricity and gas distribution company in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the national number one provider of electricity distribution, number one provider of electricity and gas Measuring instrument, metering and number tw ...
held the naming rights from the venue's opening in 2007 until April 2017, during which time it was called Vector Arena. On 19 April 2017,
Spark New Zealand took over the naming rights, renaming the venue Spark Arena.
Ownership
Quay Park Arena Management Ltd was incorporated in 2002 to construct and operate the stadium, in a deal between the company's owners and the then Auckland City Council.
In 2005, the company was renamed QPAM Ltd. QPAM has ultimately been owned by EVENZ Limited since 2012. Shares in EVENZ were purchased by American company
Live Nation Entertainment
Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. is an American global entertainment company and monopoly that was founded in 2010 following the merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster. The company promotes, operates, and manages ticket sales for live entertainme ...
and Australian company MHC Investments after approval by the
Overseas Investment Office
The Overseas Investment Office is the New Zealand government agency responsible for regulating foreign direct investment into New Zealand.
The Office is responsible for high value investments (2006: NZD $100m+), investments in sensitive land and ...
in August 2016.
Entertainment
Sports
![Vector court](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/66/Vector_court.jpg)
;Netball
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 ...
is regularly played at the venue with the
New Zealand Silver Ferns playing on several occasions while the
ANZ Championship has also used the arena on two occasions since 2010. The arena hosted the 2012-2014
Fast5 Netball World Series.
;Professional wrestling
Since 2008 Vector Arena has also been a regular host of
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...
's tours of New Zealand, with
Raw
Raw is an adjective usually describing:
* Raw materials, basic materials from which products are manufactured or made
* Raw food, uncooked food
Raw or RAW may also refer to:
Computing and electronics
* .RAW, a proprietary mass spectrometry dat ...
,
SmackDown and
ECW ECW may refer to:
Professional wrestling
* Extreme Championship Wrestling (originally Eastern Championship Wrestling), a professional wrestling promotion that operated from 1992 to 2001
* The Alliance (professional wrestling) (originally the WCW/E ...
all performing at the venue.
;Ice hockey
In 2011 some 10,000 fans saw 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 hock ...
international between
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
and the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
on a $4.2m temporary ice rink.
;Basketball
![Arena Interior from catwalk](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5c/Arena_Interior_from_catwalk.jpg)
Vector arena announced that it would host its first
National Basketball League game on 28 October 2011 when the defending champion (and Auckland based)
New Zealand Breakers took on the
Sydney Kings
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 ...
in Round 4 of the
2011–12 NBL season
The 2011–12 NBL season was the 34th season of competition since its establishment in 1979. A total of nine teams contested the league. The regular season was played between 7 October 2011 and 25 March 2012, followed by a post-season involving t ...
. The Arena hosted two more Breakers games during the season, against the
Townsville Crocodiles
The Townsville Crocodiles were an Australian professional men's basketball team based in the North Queensland city of Townsville. They competed in the National Basketball League (NBL) and played their home games at the Townsville Entertainmen ...
in Round 8 (24 November) and the Kings in Round 17 (27 January 2012).
That first NBL game at Vector Arena drew a New Zealand record crowd for a
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 ...
game when 6,900 saw the NZ Breakers defeat the Kings 76-59. This record was again broken in Round 17 of the 2011-12 season when 7,979 saw the Breakers again defeat the Kings 93-64.
On 13 March 2012 New Zealand Breakers General Manager Richard Clarke announced that due to the amount of support for the team (which is more than double the capacity of their regular home venue, the 4,400 seat
North Shore Events Centre
The Eventfinda Stadium (originally known as the North Shore Events Centre) is an indoor arena located in the North Shore City suburb of Wairau Valley, Auckland, New Zealand. The arena opened in 1992 and has a capacity of 4,179.
It primarily h ...
), that all Breakers finals games would be played at Vector Arena with capacity set at 8,500, subject to demand, with extra seating to be sold if needed. The Breakers finished the 2011-12 season as minor premiers giving them home court advantage in the Semi-finals and Grand Final (if they qualified). The Breakers qualified for the 2011-12 NBL Grand Final against the
Perth Wildcats with games 1 and 3 being played at Vector. Game 1 saw the attendance record broken when 9,125 showed to see the Breakers win 104-98 in overtime. With the Wildcats winning game 2 in
Perth
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
87-86, game 3 was required and the NZ Breakers won their second straight NBL Championship with a 79-73 win in front of yet another record attendance of 9,285.
Before the
2012-13 NBL season
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
, the Breakers confirmed that they will play 5 regular season games at Vector Arena. The first game, played in front of 6,625 fans, saw the home side defeat the
Adelaide 36ers 73-59 on 12 October. There were four other games at the arena during the regular season, on 16 November (Townsville), 13 December (
Cairns Taipans
The Cairns Taipans are an Australian professional basketball team based in Cairns, Queensland. The Taipans compete in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at the Cairns Conventio ...
), 1 February 2013 (Perth) and 14 March 2013 (
Melbourne Tigers
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 as ...
).
The Breakers once again broke their attendance record during Game 1 of the 2012-13 NBL Grand Final series against the Perth Wildcats when a capacity 9,330 fans saw the home team defeat the Wildcats 79-67. The NZ Breakers won their third straight NBL Championship by wrapping up the series with a 70-66 win over the Wildcats in front of 13,527 fans at the
Perth Arena
Perth Arena (known commercially as ) 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 Entertainmen ...
.
For the
2013–14 NBL season
The 2013–14 NBL season was the 36th season of competition since its establishment in 1979. A total of eight teams contested the league. The regular season was played between 10 October 2013 and 23 March 2014, and was followed by a post-season f ...
, the Breakers will play half of their home games at Vector Arena, totaling seven appearances at the arena. These are the season opener against Wollongong (10 October), round six clash against Adelaide (15 November), round seven clash against Townsville (22 November), round 10 clash against Perth (13 December), round 16 clash against Sydney (30 January), round 18 clash against Cairns (14 February) and round 23 clash also against Cairns (21 March). The Breakers will both start and end their ordinary season at Vector Arena.
The Breakers game against the Adelaide 36ers on 15 November 2013 saw the home side's first ever loss at Vector Arena. The Breakers led 94-93 with just over four seconds of the game remaining and had the inbound pass due to a time out. However, 36ers
point guard
The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the five Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position. Point guards are expected to run t ...
Gary Ervin
Gary Ervin (born August 9, 1983) is an American professional basketball player who last played for Chorale Roanne Basket of the French LNB Pro B. He played college basketball for Mississippi State University and the University of Arkansas. Er ...
stole the inbound pass and drove the length of the floor to score a layup just before time expired to give the 36ers a 95-94 win in front of 7,470 fans. The Breakers then lost their second game at the venue when they were defeated 71-62 by the Perth Wildcats on 13 December 2013 in front of 7,597 fans. As a measure of the teams it took to finally defeat the Breakers at Vector, the Wildcats and the 36ers would go on to play in the
2013-14 NBL Grand Final series (won 2-1 by Perth).
;BMX
The 32nd BMX World Championships, attracted over two thousand riders from 33 countries, was held in the then Vector Arena over the week of 24–28 July 2013. Construction of the track took six days involving approximately 10,000 pallets and 60 truck and trailer loads of dirt. The confines meant there was insufficient room to build two separate ramps, so a hydraulic movable one was built to allow the ramp to be moved from 5 meter height to 8 meters.
;MMA
The arena got to play host to
UFC Fight Night: Te Huna vs. Marquardt with over 8000 seats filled in attendance on 28 June 2014, the first
UFC
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...
event in New Zealand.
On February 23, 2020 it hosted
UFC Fight Night: Felder vs. Hooker which featured
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 count ...
fighter
Dan Hooker in the main event, and drew over 10,000 fans.
;Boxing
The arena played host to its first boxing event on 10 December 2016:
Joseph Parker vs Andy Ruiz
Andrés Ponce Ruiz Jr. (born September 11, 1989) is an American professional boxer. He is a former unified heavyweight champion, having defeated Anthony Joshua to win the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO titles in 2019 to become the first ma ...
for the vacant
WBO
The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxing ...
World Heavyweight Title.
This was New Zealand's first male world title and first heavyweight world title fight hosted in New Zealand, and New Zealand's second major world title fight, the first being
Kali Reis vs
Maricela Cornejo for the vacant
WBC
WBC may stand for:
Business
*Westinghouse Broadcasting Company, a former large India broadcaster now folded into CBS
*Westpac (New Delhi Exchange code: WBC), a multinational Financial services company
*Wholesale Broadband Connect, BT Wholesale's ...
World Female Middleweight title on 16 April 2016 at
The Trusts Arena
The Trusts Arena is an indoor arena located in Henderson, New Zealand, Henderson, Auckland, New Zealand. It is a multi-purpose stadium that primarily holds sports events and music concerts. The Arena was opened by then Prime Minister of New Ze ...
.
Other events
Other performers such as comedians
Jeff Dunham
Jeffrey Douglas Dunham (born April 18, 1962) is an American ventriloquist, stand-up comedian and actor who has also appeared on numerous television shows, including ''Late Show with David Letterman'', ''Comedy Central Presents'', ''The Tonigh ...
,
Billy Connolly and
Russell Brand
Russell Edward Brand (born 4 June 1975) is an English comedian and actor known for his flamboyant, loquacious style and manner. Brand has received three British Comedy Awards: Best Newcomer (2006), Best Live Stand-Up (2008), and the award for ...
have performed at the arena. Feld Entertainment's Disney on Ice shows also play here every year in August.
Controversial evangelist
Benny Hinn staged his mass gathering at the venue on 9 June 2007.
Mike Tyson
Michael Gerard Tyson (born June 30, 1966) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1985 to 2005. Nicknamed "Iron Mike" and "Kid Dynamite" in his early career, and later known as "The Baddest Man on the Planet", Tyson is cons ...
was due to bring his Day of Champions tour the Vector Arena in 2012, but he was not granted a
visa
Visa most commonly refers to:
*Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company
** Visa Debit card issued by the above company
** Visa Electron, a debit card
** Visa Plus, an interbank network
*Travel visa, a document that allows ...
to enter the country due to his previous
criminal convictions.
The exterior of the building has been used for battle scenes in the
Power Rangers
''Power Rangers'' is an entertainment and merchandising franchise built around a live-action superhero television series, based on the Japanese tokusatsu franchise ''Super Sentai''. Produced first by Saban Entertainment, second by BVS Entert ...
series.
In mid-August 2021, Spark Arena hosted retail company
Mitre 10's 2021 Awards ceremony which was attended by a thousand people including
TVNZ
, type = Crown entity
, industry = Broadcast television
, num_locations = New Zealand
, location = Auckland, New Zealand
, area_served = Nationally (New Zealand) and some Pacific Island nations such as the Cook Islands, Fiji, and the So ...
broadcaster
Hilary Barry
Hilary Ann Barry (née Pankhurst, born 4 December 1969) is a New Zealand journalist and television personality who co-hosts '' Seven Sharp'' with Jeremy Wells on TVNZ 1. She was a newsreader on TV3 for many years and until 2016, presented the 6 ...
. On 20 August, a bar worker tested positive for
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. Consequently, participants were ordered to isolate at home.
See also
*
List of indoor arenas in New Zealand
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Sports venues in Auckland
Indoor arenas in New Zealand
Music venues in New Zealand
Netball venues in New Zealand
Basketball venues in New Zealand
National Basketball League (Australia) venues
New Zealand Breakers
2000s architecture in New Zealand
Sports venues completed in 2007
2007 establishments in New Zealand
Auckland CBD