Melbourne Park
Coordinates: 37 ° 49 ′ 21.6 ″ S , 144 ° 58 ′ 48.2 ″ E
The Melbourne Park is a sports complex in the Australian city of Melbourne . It is best known as the venue for the annual Australian Open .
history
The Australian Open took place on the grounds of the Kooyong tennis club since 1973 . In order to do justice to the rapidly increased interests of spectators and players after the beginning of the Open Era and to keep pace with the development of the other three Grand Slam tournaments , a new sports complex was built at the beginning of the 1980s based on the model of national tennis Center in Flushing Meadows decided. In 1988 the sports complex was inaugurated under the name Flinders Park . In 1997 it was renamed Melbourne Park .
Location and area
Melbourne Park is located about three kilometers east of the city center in the East Melbourne district on the Yarra River . With the Melbourne Cricket Ground , Melbourne Rectangular Stadium and Olympic Park Stadium , it forms the Melbourne Sports and Entertainment Precinct .
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The park comprises three large stadiums - the Rod Laver Arena (15,000 seats), the Melbourne Arena (10,000 seats) and the Margaret Court Arena (7,500 seats). In addition, there are another 19 outdoor tennis courts and six indoor courts as well as a multifunctional hall ( Melbourne Park Function Center ) on the area. Plexicushion has been used as a surface on the tennis courts since the Australian Open 2008 , before Rebound Ace was used.
use
In addition to the Australian Open in January, the Melbourne Park stadiums are mainly used to host music concerts. Melbourne Arena is the home stadium of the Melbourne basketball team ( Melbourne United ). Furthermore, several competitions of the Commonwealth Games 2006 were held on the area.
literature
- John Parsons et al .: The Tennis Book. Carlton Books, London 2012. ISBN 978-1-78097-012-7 . P. 164f.
