The Sydney SuperDome (currently known as the Qudos Bank Arena) is a large multipurpose arena located in Sydney, Australia.
It is situated in Sydney Olympic Park, and was completed in 1999 as part of the facilities for the 2000 Summer Olympics.
The A$190-million facility was designed by COX Architecture & Devine deFlon Yaeger, and constructed by Abigroup and Obayashi Corporation Bob Carr, premier of New South Wales, officially opened the stadium in November 1999.The development of the stadium was part of three subsites which also included a 3,400-space carpark which cost A$25 million, and a plaza with external works, also costing $25 million. The roof's masts reach 42 metres (138 ft) above ground level, and the stadium occupies a site of 20,000 m2 (220,000 sq ft; 4.9 acres).The arena is ranked in the top 10 arenas worldwide. It is currently managed by AEG Ogden. For three consecutive years the venue was a finalist for the Billboard Touring Awards in the top venue category.The arena has a total capacity of 21,032 with a seating capacity of around 18,200 making the SuperDome the largest permanent indoor sports and entertainment venue in Australia.
Stadium name history
The arena was known as the Sydney SuperDome from opening in 1999 until 11 May 2006 when it was renamed Acer Arena (after Acer Inc.) as part of a naming rights deal. The naming rights were subsequently purchased by Allphones, the new name Allphones Arena taking effect from 1 September 2011. Since 11 April 2016, the venue has been known as Qantas Credit Union Arena then Qudos Bank Arena (after the rebranded Qudos Bank).
Design
The Sydney SuperDome is designed at an average capacity of 18,200 seated, with a maximum possible capacity of 21,032, according to the Sydney Olympic Park Authority. The SuperDome's bowl is rearrangeable in various modes to accommodate for sports events, concerts, and the like, and the venue's capacity fluctuates depending on the event hosted. The floor of the venue measures 48 m (157 ft) by 78 m (256 ft) at its maximum extent. The venue is created from 5,696m3 of concrete, 1,884 tonnes of reinforcing steel, and is topped with a 1,235 tonne roof structure. 18 steel masts suspend from the zinc and aluminium-composed and alloy-coated steel roof, which is tensioned by cables stretching from the top of each mast to the center of the roof. The interior ceiling of the venue is decorated in a corrugated steel profile, heavily insulated with materials such as numerous copies of unused Yellow pages telephone directories.Various measures were made at the request of the Sydney Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (SOCOG) for environmentally friendly design measures. In its early years, the Sydney SuperDome used renewable energy for a fraction of its power supply, provided by EnergyAustralia's green power scheme. The venue saw use of green power through a deal with EnergyAustralia that lasted the duration of the 2000 Summer Olympics and the five years following. The SuperDome's power architecture includes 1,176 photovoltaic solar panels, installed on the arena's roof, which provide 10% of the venue's daily energy consumption, estimated at ~8612MWh annually. Energy efficient lighting and heating/cooling systems were also installed in the venue. The roof's drainage system consists over 2000m of high-density polyethylene pipes, in addition to nearly 3000m of cast iron and copper pipes used in the venue's plumbing system, and 1000m of vitrified clay pipes that make up the SuperDome's surrounding stormwater drainage system. The SuperDome was also one of many venues built at Sydney Olympic Park that made use of recycled timber, used to construct the exterior balconies of the venue. The timber was sourced from Kempsey, and Oberon, along with local sources in Sydney. Additionally, polypropylene seats with nylon arms and mountings make up the SuperDome's stands.
Events
The arena is home to many major entertainment and conference events and is a venue of choice for major entertainment promoters.