AIS Arena is a multi-purpose arena located in Canberra, Australia. The capacity is 5,200 and was built in 1980. The arena was opened by the Prime Minister of Australia, Malcolm Fraser, on 26 January 1981 and was originally named the National Indoor Sports Centre and was the inaugural home of the Australian Institute of Sport.

The AIS Arena is home to the Canberra Capitals and Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) who play in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL). While the AIS is yet to win an WNBL championship the Capitals have been far more successful and have won a record seven WNBL championships.

The AIS Arena was also home to defunct National Basketball League team the Canberra Cannons. The Cannons would win three championships while in Canberra yet they never got to celebrate a home grand final win as their three NBL titles (1983, 1984 and 1988) were won in Melbourne.

The Arena was designed by Phillip Cox & Partners. Architectural features include a 1200 tonne suspended concrete panel roof supported by 12 steel masts and 36 mainstay cables. The roof has a span of 100.4 metres. The stadium is partly set into the ground to reduce its scale and to establish a visual connection between the landscape and the mast and cable structure of the roof.

References

External links

• Official site