Albert Park Basketball Stadium was an Australian basketball centre in

Albert Park, Victoria Albert Park is an inner suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south of Melbourne's Central Business District. The suburb is named after Albert Park, a large lakeside urban park located within the City of Port Phillip local government ar ...

. The nine-court arena was the home of NBL side

St. Kilda Saints The St Kilda Football Club, nicknamed the Saints, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier league. The club's name originates ...

and

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 as ...

(formerly Melbourne Tigers). On 10 June 1979, Albert Park hosted the inaugural

NBL Grand Final The NBL Grand Final is the championship series of the National Basketball League (NBL). The entrants are determined by the victors of the two Semi Finals series, who engage in a best-of-five game series to determine the league champion. The win ...

, which saw the

St Kilda Saints The St Kilda Football Club, nicknamed the Saints, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier league. The club's name originates fr ...

defeat the

Canberra Cannons The Canberra Cannons are a defunct basketball team that competed in Australia's National Basketball League (NBL). They went into financial administration in 2003 and were relocated to Newcastle, where they became the Hunter Pirates. After thi ...

94–93.

Larry Sengstock Larry Sengstock (born 4 March 1960 in Maryborough, Queensland) is an Australian retired basketball player and was the CEO of Basketball Australia and the NBL until April 2012. Career Larry was born in Maryborough Qld. He was a champion swi ...

, with 33 points scored for St Kilda, won the first

NBL Grand Final Most Valuable Player Award The National Basketball League Grand Final Most Valuable Player is an annual National Basketball League (NBL) award given since the league's inaugural season to the best performing player of the Grand Final series. The winner receives the Larry ...

. The stadium was closed and demolished in 1997, and was replaced with basketball facilities incorporated into the

Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre Melbourne Sports Centres - MSAC is an international sporting venue located in Albert Park, Victoria, Australia. The centre was opened on 24 July 1997 at a construction cost of A$65 million. The cost was funded by the State Government of Victori ...

that was built on the nearby within Albert Park. For a number of years, attached to the back of the stadium was a house that was the official residence of the general manager of the Victorian Basketball Association. The long time VBA general manager was former

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

and long time Melbourne Tigers coach

Lindsay Gaze Lindsay John Casson Gaze (born 16 August 1936) is an Australian former basketball player and coach. He played for Australia in three Summer Olympics qualification tournaments, between 1960 and 1968, and was the head coach of the senior Austr ...

and the manager's residence was the home of the Gaze family, which included Lindsay's son

Andrew Andrew is the English form of a given name common in many countries. In the 1990s, it was among the top ten most popular names given to boys in List of countries where English is an official language, English-speaking countries. "Andrew" is freq ...

and nephew Mark, who both played for Australia as Lindsay had done in the 1950s and 1960s. Andrew Gaze later told that his father and he would spend many nights by themselves either in their back yard (on one of the 7 outdoor courts) or in the 2,000-seat stadium working on his game, though Lindsay just said that to him it was father and son spending time together.1989 Seton Hall Basketball Andrew Gaze Profile
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References

{{Reflist Melbourne United Defunct National Basketball League (Australia) venues Defunct basketball venues in Australia Defunct indoor arenas in Australia 1958 establishments in Australia 1997 disestablishments in Australia Demolished buildings and structures in Melbourne Sports venues demolished in 1997