WIN Entertainment Centre

WIN Entertainment Centre
The WEC / The Sandpit
Location Corner of Crown & Harbour Streets, Wollongong, NSW 2520
Coordinates 34°25′36″S 150°54′10″E / 34.42667°S 150.90278°E / -34.42667; 150.90278Coordinates: 34°25′36″S 150°54′10″E / 34.42667°S 150.90278°E / -34.42667; 150.90278
Owner Wollongong Sportsground Trust, Pty Ltd.
Capacity Basketball: 6,000[1]
Concerts: 5,000
Reduced mode: 1,000-3,000
Surface Customisable
Opened 5 September 1998
Tenants
Illawarra Hawks (NBL) (1998-present)

WIN Entertainment Centre (formally Wollongong Entertainment Centre and commonly WEC) is a multi-purpose indoor arena, located in downtown Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia.

The WEC opened on 5 September 1998 with a concert by Bob Dylan and Patti Smith; 4,935 people attended the event. Dylan performed at the venue again in 2011 performing to a crowd of 3,214 people.

The arena is 3 minutes walk from the city centre and has hosted a variety of events including Federation Cup tennis, world championship boxing and international musical acts.

Every year the WIN Entertainment Centre holds the Wakakirri Story Dance Wollongong heat and also a variety of concerts and expos.

The centre's logo

The building was designed by the NSW Government Architect.

Sporting events

The venue is the home of the Illawarra Hawks who play in the Australasian-based National Basketball League (NBL). During Hawks games it is referred to as "The Sandpit" in reference to being next to the beach. It is also a play on name of the Hawks former home, the Beaton Park Stadium, which was commonly known as "The Snakepit". The Hawks, known from 1979-1998 as the Illawarra Hawks, are the only original club left in the NBL.

The record attendance for an event at the WIN Centre is 5,839, set on 18 February 2005, when the Hawks played their regular season finale against the Sydney Kings.

Naming rights

The naming rights to both facilities are owned by WIN Corporation, a Wollongong-based media company which owns the television network, WIN.

References


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 7/2/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.