A Short History

How it began
In 1985, part of Flinders and Yarra Parks were set aside as the site for a National Tennis Centre, a Victorian Government initiative to replace the Kooyong venue. The site was ideal, being approximately 1km from Melbourne’s Central Business District and easily accessible by public transport.

The architects
Peddle Thorp Learmonth, a Melbourne-based architectural firm, was engaged to design a multi-purpose venue for both tennis and mass entertainment, and architect Peter Brook was commissioned to help with the design and project management. The brief from the National Tennis Centre Trust was to provide the State of Victoria with a world-class complex that could operate as a Grand Slam Tennis venue and a multi-use entertainment centre.

Stage 1
Stage 1 of the $94 million development was completed in 1987. The finished Centre included a 16,000 seat centre court with retractable roof, match court 1 with a seating capacity of 6,000, match court 2 seating 3,000, 13 outside match courts, 5 indoor practice courts, public concourse, public transport infrastructure and car parking facilities.

Retractable roof:
A vital design specification was a retractable roof that was reliable, strong and would not rust. The completed roof, its innovative design a world’s first, is formed by two rolling sections, each spanning the court with arched trusses that give the Centre its distinctive image.

The roof takes just 20 minutes to open or close, ensuring that tennis can be played despite Melbourne’s often inclement weather, and that the venue can be used throughout the year for concerts, arena spectaculars and other functions.

Court surface:
After an extensive world-wide search and twelve months of intensive testing, the innovative Rebound Ace was chosen as the most appropriate surface for the courts.


The Opening
The National Tennis Centre was officially opened in 1988, with the first tennis ball hit in January 1988 at the inaugural Australian Open Tennis Championship to be held at the venue.

Stage 2
With the increasing use of the venue for concerts and the growth of the Australian Open, the need for expansion became obvious.

Stage 2, a $23 million project that effectively doubled the size of Melbourne Park, was ready for the 1996 Australian Open. Changes to the venue included two new show courts – one seating 3,000 and the other 800, a magnificent function centre that can seat up to 1800, eight additional Rebound Ace match courts, additional car parking for 500 cars, and Garden Square.

Garden Square, the central lawn area, on which the public could congregate, relax and watch the huge video screen at the Australian Open, has proved extremely popular.


Stage 3/Multi Purpose Arena
A new multi-purpose venue, Hisense Arena, which includes an additional 10,000 seat show court, was completed in 2000. This state-of-the-art indoor/outdoor facility can host a variety of sports including basketball, tennis, and cycling in its own velodrome. It also doubles as a world class entertainment venue.

Basketball comes to Flinders Park
The first ever NBL game at Melbourne Park was on 3 April 1992 with Melbourne beating Canberra 112-104. Tigers' new import Lanard Copeland had an immediate impact on his debut with 27 points the 4th quarter - still an NBL record for the final term. Basketball exploded during this time in Melbourne with the two Melbourne Park tenants (Magic and Tigers) facing off for the 1992 title, as they did again in 1996 and 1997, and at least one Melbourne team featured in every League Grand Final between 1991 and 2000.

A packed stadium of 15,366 watched the Magic and the Tigers in 1996.

In 1999 the Magic become the Victorian Titans, sharing the venue with the Tigers for the next 2 years. The last ever game was played there in April 2000 when the Titans lost game one of the Grand Final against Perth. Tony Ronaldson played at Melbourne Park a record 163 times and the best ever scoring performance was by Townsville player Ricky Jones who posted 53 points against the Magic in 1993. Rod Laver Arena hosted 287 NBL games including NBL Championship deciders in 1992, 1996, 1997 and 1998.

Today
The Australian Open, one of only four annual Grand Slam Tournaments, has been held every year at Melbourne Park since 1988. As well as the tennis facilities and entertainment venues, Melbourne Park also houses administration offices for Melbourne & Olympic Parks, Tennis Australia, Tennis Victoria and the Australian Open.

Over 1 million people visit Melbourne Park every year to play or watch sport, or to attend functions or concerts.  The facilities are maintained at world class and world best standards, giving Australian and overseas visitors exciting entertainment options in a safe and comfortable environment.

On 18 November 2007 the record crowd for Rod Laver Arena was recorded when 16,183 attended Justin Timberlake's concert.  The courts were resurfaced prior to the 2008 Australian Open with a new blue Plexicushion surface, giving the facilities a fresh new look. Crowds at this event again exceeded existing records with 605,735 attending over the 14 days and a Grand Slam record of 62,885 attending the fourth day.

Thanks to Mark Slocombe for information relating to basketball.