Operator Vbase Phone +64 3-339 3599 General contractor Charles Luney | Opened September 1998 Owner Vbase | |
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Former names WestpacTrust Centre (1998–2007)
Westpac Arena (2007–10)
CBS Canterbury Arena (2012–14) Horncastle Arena (2014–present) Location 55 Jack Hinton Drive
Addington, Christchurch
Canterbury, New Zealand Capacity Netball: 7,200
Concerts: 8,888 Address 55 Jack Hinton Dr, Addington, Christchurch 8024, New Zealand Similar Vector Arena, TSB Bank Arena, Rugby League Park, Isaac Theatre Royal, Claudelands Arena | ||
Shihad 2014 09 12 christchurch nz horncastle arena full show
Horncastle Arena is a New Zealand sporting and entertainment arena located in the Christchurch suburb of Addington. It has gone through a series of name changes and was most recently known as the CBS Canterbury Arena.
Contents
Adgraphix horncastle arena signage
Description
The arena is New Zealand's second-largest indoor arena with a maximum capacity of 8,888 (depending on event type), it was the largest until the construction of Auckland's Vector Arena in 2007. The indoor stadium is capable of hosting concerts, exhibitions and various sporting events. Provision for international sport and traditional indoor arena events has been integrated into the design requirements.
It has over 6,700 seats for sporting fixtures or, in the concert configuration, the seating can increase to over 7,000.
The Sports and Entertainment complex is located adjacent to Addington Raceway and Rugby League Park in South West Christchurch surrounded by 3,000 car parking spaces. The complex is only 10 minutes from the city centre.
It has been affectionately dubbed 'The Woolshed' by Canterbury Rams basketball fans. Some Christchurch citizens colloquially refer to the arena as the horseshoe, due to its unusual architectural exterior design.
Horncastle Homes currently holds the naming rights to the stadium.
History
Charles Luney was the builder for the stadium. The arena opened in September 1998 at a cost of NZ$32 Million. In the first ever sporting match at CBS Canterbury Arena, the Canterbury Rams basketball team suffered a close loss to the Wellington Saints 86–81 in April 1999.
It was built for two main reasons: primarily for the 1999 Netball World Cup in Christchurch, and also because Christchurch was missing out on many concerts and other attractions, because it did not have a suitable indoor arena in the city.
Current tenants
Sporting
Since its opening, it has been host to a number of different sporting events. These Include home matches for the Canterbury Rams (basketball) and Mainland Tactix (netball) teams. It occasionally hosts international basketball and netball fixtures featuring the Tall Blacks and Silver Ferns respectively. It was also the host of the 1999 Netball World Championships.
It has also been host to a lot of non-regular sporting events. These include various celebrity tennis matches, ice shows, disabled games, karate championships and gymnastics competitions.
Other uses
The arena plays a key role in the Christchurch economy hosting annual trade shows including the Christchurch Home Show, Women's Lifestyle Expo, The Christchurch Boat Show, and the South Island gift Fare.
The Horncastle Arena is managed by the same company that manages the Christchurch Convention Centre and plays an important part of hosting major conferences in cooperation with the convention centre. The combined facilities regularly host a variety of different conferences for up to 2500 people. It has been a frequent host for the New Zealand annual Tourism conference known as T.R.E.N.Z..
The venue is also used for big gala dinners, lunches, balls, and cocktail parties.
Name change
On 18 June 2010, Westpac Arena was officially renamed CBS Canterbury Arena.
On 23 July 2014, CBS Canterbury Arena was officially renamed Horncastle Arena.