Wollongong Entertainment Centre (also known by its
naming rights
Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization whereby a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event, typically for a defined period of t ...
sponsor WIN Entertainment Centre and colloquially as the WEC) is a multi-purpose indoor arena, located in
Wollongong
Wollongong ( ), colloquially referred to as The Gong, is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near wate ...
,
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
, Australia.
The WEC opened on 5 September
1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...
with a concert by
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
and
Patti Smith
Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946)
is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter and author who became an influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album '' Horses''.
Called the "punk poe ...
; 4,935 people attended the event. Dylan performed at the venue again in
2011
File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...
, performing to a crowd of 3,214 people, and again in
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 ...
.
The arena is 3 minutes walk from the city centre and has hosted a variety of events including
Federation Cup Federation Cup or Fed Cup is the former name of the premier world team competition in women's tennis.
Federation Cup may also refer to:
* Capital Football Federation Cup, an Australian territory-based association football tournament
*Federation Cup ...
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 ...
, world championship
boxing
Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...
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 New South Wales Government Architect, an appointed officer of the Government of New South Wales, serves as the General Manager of the Government Architect's Office (GAO), a multi-disciplinary consultancy operating on commercial principles ...
.
Sporting events
The venue is the home of the
Illawarra Hawks
The Illawarra Hawks (formerly the Wollongong Hawks and The 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 ...
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
Beaton Park Stadium is an Australian basketball centre in Gwynneville, New South Wales. It was the home of National Basketball League side Illawarra Hawks between 1979 and 1998, and is the home to local basketball in Wollongong. It was nicknam ...
, 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 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 ...
.
Naming rights
The
naming rights
Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization whereby a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event, typically for a defined period of t ...
to both facilities are owned by
WIN Corporation
WIN Corporation is a private Australian media company, that owns assets including the WIN Television network, Crawford Productions and several local radio stations. The company is based in Wollongong, New South Wales.
History
Founding
The WIN b ...
, a Wollongong-based media company which owns the
television network
A television network or television broadcaster is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, where a central operation provides programming to many television stations or multichannel video programming distributo ...
,
WIN.
See also
*
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
* Lis ...
References
External links
WEC Official WebsiteAustadiums.com - WIN Entertainment Centre
National Basketball League (Australia) venues
Basketball venues in Australia
Music venues in Australia
Indoor arenas in Australia
Sport in Wollongong
Illawarra Hawks
Sports venues in New South Wales
Buildings and structures in Wollongong
Sports venues completed in 1998
Netball venues in New South Wales
{{Australia-sports-venue-stub