The Edgar Centre
Encyclopedia
The Edgar Centre is a large multi-purpose indoor sports venue in South Dunedin
, New Zealand
, on the shore of Otago Harbour
close to Andersons Bay Inlet. It is the home venue of the Otago Nuggets
basketball
team, and an alternate venue for the Southern Steel
netball
team. The centre also hosts a wide variety of other sports events and community events such as auctions and fairs, and is owned by the Dunedin City Council.
The building is named after Dunedin millionaire and philanthropist Eion Edgar. Originally a wool-store, it was purchased and converted by the Dunedin City Council at a cost of NZ$2.5 million, of which 20% was provided by Edgar. The building was officially opened by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
in 1995, and won the Hillary Commission's 1996 Win-Win Facility Award. Extensions were carried out during 1996, which included the addition of a seminar room, refreshment facilities, foyer, and control rooms. In 2005, extra work was carried out, extending the playing area with the addition of the Lion Foundation Arena, which also includes a medical centre and enlarged viewing areas. The Arena is also used for functions and events, hosting up to 1,600 dinner guests.
The centre contains five ASF Hormer PR1 Messemate timber floor courts suitable and marked for netball, basketball, and volleyball
. It can be set up to provide 5 basketball courts, 21 netball courts, or 16 indoor tennis
courts. Nets are also available for cricket
training. In 2007 the centre hosted a Davis Cup
tie with Pacific Oceania.
At 14.4 hectares, the centre is the largest single-building indoor sports arena in the Southern Hemisphere.
South Dunedin
South Dunedin is a major inner city suburb of the New Zealand city of Dunedin. It is located, as its name suggests, to the south of the city centre, on part of a large plain known locally simply as "The Flat". The suburb is a mix of industrial, retail, and predominantly lower-quality residential...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, on the shore of Otago Harbour
Otago Harbour
Otago Harbour is the natural harbour of Dunedin, New Zealand, consisting of a long, much-indented stretch of generally navigable water separating the Otago Peninsula from the mainland. They join at its southwest end, from the harbour mouth...
close to Andersons Bay Inlet. It is the home venue of the Otago Nuggets
Otago Nuggets
The OCEANAGOLD Nuggets, formerly the Otago Nuggets, are a New Zealand professional basketball team that play in the National Basketball League. They play their home games at the Edgar Centre in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.-2006 season:...
basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
team, and an alternate venue for the Southern Steel
Southern Steel
The Southern Steel are a New Zealand netball team based in Invercargill that compete in the trans-Tasman ANZ Championship. The franchise was formed as an amalgamation of two teams from the National Bank Cup, the Dunedin-based Otago Rebels and the Invercargill-based Southern Sting...
netball
Netball
Netball is a ball sport played between two teams of seven players. Its development, derived from early versions of basketball, began in England in the 1890s. By 1960 international playing rules had been standardised for the game, and the International Federation of Netball and Women's Basketball ...
team. The centre also hosts a wide variety of other sports events and community events such as auctions and fairs, and is owned by the Dunedin City Council.
The building is named after Dunedin millionaire and philanthropist Eion Edgar. Originally a wool-store, it was purchased and converted by the Dunedin City Council at a cost of NZ$2.5 million, of which 20% was provided by Edgar. The building was officially opened by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
in 1995, and won the Hillary Commission's 1996 Win-Win Facility Award. Extensions were carried out during 1996, which included the addition of a seminar room, refreshment facilities, foyer, and control rooms. In 2005, extra work was carried out, extending the playing area with the addition of the Lion Foundation Arena, which also includes a medical centre and enlarged viewing areas. The Arena is also used for functions and events, hosting up to 1,600 dinner guests.
The centre contains five ASF Hormer PR1 Messemate timber floor courts suitable and marked for netball, basketball, and volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
. It can be set up to provide 5 basketball courts, 21 netball courts, or 16 indoor tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
courts. Nets are also available for cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
training. In 2007 the centre hosted a Davis Cup
Davis Cup
The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation and is contested between teams of players from competing countries in a knock-out format. The competition began in 1900 as a challenge between Britain and the United States. By...
tie with Pacific Oceania.
At 14.4 hectares, the centre is the largest single-building indoor sports arena in the Southern Hemisphere.