Perth Arena
Encyclopedia
Perth Arena will be a new indoor sporting and entertainment arena located on Wellington Street in the city centre of Perth
, Western Australia
. It is currently being built on the site of the former carpark for the now defunct Perth Entertainment Centre
. With a requested minimum capacity of 12,000 for sporting events and 14,000 for concerts, Cameron Chisholm & Nicol (WA) Pty Ltd and ARM
Architects have designed the venue to seat up to 13,370 for tennis events and 14,306 for basketball and a maximum of 15,500 for concerts. The architecture of Perth Arena is partly based on the Eternity Puzzle
and the Round House
.
The facility is being built in the heart of the city close to major transport hubs, particularly the William and Wellington Street platforms of the Perth Train Station and the Wellington Street Bus Station. It is considered to be the first (and western-most) stage of the Perth City Link project which will involve the sinking of the railway line between the Wellington Street Train Station and Lake Street. The venue will have a retractable roof and trucks will access the site directly off the Freeway via Market Street.
The project is currently scheduled to be completed in mid-2012 and when opened, will be a major drawcard in the Perth City Link area's aim to re-join Perth's CBD and the entertainment precinct in Northbridge.
The Tender for the project was won by construction company BGC. BGC moved into the site on the 28th of June 2007, and the project is now officially 'Under Construction'. The first concrete pour for the underground carpark section of the stadium occurred on 26 July 2008.
The Perth Arena is owned by VenuesWest (operates Challenge Stadium
, WA Basketball Centre, Arena Joondalup and others on behalf of the Government of Western Australia
and managed by AEG Ogden. The inaugural CEO of the Perth Arena is local David Humphreys, former GM of Perth Entertainment Centre
and Allphones Arena (formerly Acer Arena), in Sydney, Australia.
Likely tenants of the Perth Arena will include Perth Wildcats
- National Basketball League (Australia)
and the Hopman Cup
.
Auditor General Auditor-General Colin Murphy reported in 2010 that “The initial estimates of the cost and opening date for the Arena were unrealistic and made before the project was well understood or defined”. An example of the modifications to the original Arena design is the change of the carpark location from being built above the nearby railway line as a separate project to underneath the Arena itself.
It was reported in 2011 that mould was a problem in part of the site's insulation, although it is unclear as to the extent of the problem due to the apparent conflict between the representative of the non-site Union and the anti-Union constructor BGC.
BGC's owner Len Buckeridge has described the building as a "squashed beer can" as part of his reasoning on the site running past its contract competition and handover date. The penalty clauses and contract variations of the contract will inevitably end up in court at the completion of the project.
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
, Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
. It is currently being built on the site of the former carpark for the now defunct Perth Entertainment Centre
Perth Entertainment Centre
Perth Entertainment Centre is a former indoor arena and cinema complex, located in Wellington Street, in the city centre of Perth, Western Australia.-History:...
. With a requested minimum capacity of 12,000 for sporting events and 14,000 for concerts, Cameron Chisholm & Nicol (WA) Pty Ltd and ARM
Ashton Raggatt McDougall
Ashton Raggatt McDougall or ARM is a firm of architects based in Melbourne, Australia known for "architectural outspokenness". Founded in 1988, the firm has completed internationally renowned design work and the principals are Stephen Ashton, Howard Raggatt and Ian McDougall...
Architects have designed the venue to seat up to 13,370 for tennis events and 14,306 for basketball and a maximum of 15,500 for concerts. The architecture of Perth Arena is partly based on the Eternity Puzzle
Eternity puzzle
Eternity is a tiling puzzle created by Christopher Monckton and launched by the Ertl Company in June 1999. Consisting of 209 pieces, it was marketed as being practically unsolveable, with a £1 million prize on offer for whoever could solve it within four years. The prize was paid out in October...
and the Round House
Round House
The Round House is the oldest building still standing in Western Australia. It is located at Arthur Head in Fremantle, and recent heritage assessments and appraisals of the precinct of the Round House incorporate Arthur Head....
.
The facility is being built in the heart of the city close to major transport hubs, particularly the William and Wellington Street platforms of the Perth Train Station and the Wellington Street Bus Station. It is considered to be the first (and western-most) stage of the Perth City Link project which will involve the sinking of the railway line between the Wellington Street Train Station and Lake Street. The venue will have a retractable roof and trucks will access the site directly off the Freeway via Market Street.
The project is currently scheduled to be completed in mid-2012 and when opened, will be a major drawcard in the Perth City Link area's aim to re-join Perth's CBD and the entertainment precinct in Northbridge.
The Tender for the project was won by construction company BGC. BGC moved into the site on the 28th of June 2007, and the project is now officially 'Under Construction'. The first concrete pour for the underground carpark section of the stadium occurred on 26 July 2008.
The Perth Arena is owned by VenuesWest (operates Challenge Stadium
Challenge Stadium
Challenge Stadium is a sports complex in the suburb of Mount Claremont, west of Perth, Western Australia, Australia. It was opened in 1986 and is home to the Western Australian Institute of Sport. The main indoor arena holds 4,500 people...
, WA Basketball Centre, Arena Joondalup and others on behalf of the Government of Western Australia
Government of Western Australia
The formation of the Government of Western Australia is prescribed in its Constitution, which dates from 1890, although it has been amended many times since then...
and managed by AEG Ogden. The inaugural CEO of the Perth Arena is local David Humphreys, former GM of Perth Entertainment Centre
Perth Entertainment Centre
Perth Entertainment Centre is a former indoor arena and cinema complex, located in Wellington Street, in the city centre of Perth, Western Australia.-History:...
and Allphones Arena (formerly Acer Arena), in Sydney, Australia.
Likely tenants of the Perth Arena will include Perth Wildcats
Perth Wildcats
The Perth Wildcats are an Australian professional basketball team competing in the National Basketball League. The Wildcats are the only team in the league representing the state of Western Australia and are based in the state capital, Perth...
- National Basketball League (Australia)
National Basketball League (Australia)
The National Basketball League, also known as the iiNet NBL Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in Australasia....
and the Hopman Cup
Hopman Cup
The Hopman Cup is an annual international team tennis tournament held in Perth, Western Australia in early January each year, which plays mixed teams on a country by country basis...
.
Setbacks
The Perth Arena project has been controversial since its construction was announced in 2004 due to its cost increases ($160m to $500m (approx)) and extension of the completion date (from Jan 2009 to mid/late 2012 (approx)).Auditor General Auditor-General Colin Murphy reported in 2010 that “The initial estimates of the cost and opening date for the Arena were unrealistic and made before the project was well understood or defined”. An example of the modifications to the original Arena design is the change of the carpark location from being built above the nearby railway line as a separate project to underneath the Arena itself.
It was reported in 2011 that mould was a problem in part of the site's insulation, although it is unclear as to the extent of the problem due to the apparent conflict between the representative of the non-site Union and the anti-Union constructor BGC.
BGC's owner Len Buckeridge has described the building as a "squashed beer can" as part of his reasoning on the site running past its contract competition and handover date. The penalty clauses and contract variations of the contract will inevitably end up in court at the completion of the project.