Rod Laver Arena

Rod Laver Arena is a multipurpose arena located within Melbourne Park, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The arena is the main venue for the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tennis tournament of the calendar year. The arena has a capacity of 14,820 for tennis. The arena opened in 1988 as the National Tennis Centre at Flinders Park prior to being renamed Centre Court in 1996. It would take its' present name in January of 2000
On April 11, 2023 the National Hockey League, announced that they would stage two pre season games, known as Global Series Melbourne, at the arena on September 23 and 24, 2023. The Arizona Coyotes and Los Angeles Kings were named as the participating teams for the event. This will be the league's first games of any kind held in the southern hemisphere. The roof will remain closed for the games. The arena which has one end of adjustable seats usually used for concerts will give the arena a large enough footprint to fit in an NHL regulation (200'x85') sheet of ice. Seating will be limited in the upper bowl of on end of the arena due to poor site lines caused by the reconfiguration of seats. The league plans on building two temporary locker rooms and installing a temporary center hung scoreboard for the event. The planned build (construction) for the game will take 12 days.
This will mark the first time the NHL will require a build of a sheet of ice outside of North America. One of the major logistical challenges will be getting the equipment required to build an arena. The league stores its' outdoor game materials in Toronto. The items will have to be put into containers and be transported by train to Vancouver and then by sea from Vancouver to Melbourne which will take 45 to 60 days. Due to the lateness of the announcement, less than two months of time to prepare the equipment to be shipped is being allowed for in its' planning, which is usually done in tractor trailer units and driven to the site somewhere in the United States or Canada.
The facility previous has held games involving teams of former National Hockey League players.
Category:Indoor ice hockey venues in Australia