Vector Arena

Vector Arena

Multi Purpose Venue
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Vector Arena from the outside
Location	42-80 Mahuhu Crescent, Parnell, Auckland, New Zealand
Coordinates
Owner	Auckland Council / QPAM
Operator	QPAM LTD
Capacity	9,000 seated, 12,000 with floor standees
Construction
Broke ground	2006
Opened	APRIL 2007
Construction cost	NZ$ 80 million
Tenants
New Zealand Breakers (NBL) (2012-)

The arena at night.

The seating inside the arena.

The Arena in a netball setup.

Vector Arena is a 12,000-seat arena for sports and entertainment events in Auckland, New Zealand. Named for a sponsor, Vector Limited, the arena is located at Quay Park, Parnell, very close to the former Auckland Railway Station. Vector Arena cost around $80 million, and of this sum ratepayers contributed $68 million for the facility to be managed by QPAM, the NZ operator, in New Zealand first big public-private partnership. This runs for 40 years before ownership is transferred to the city.

After delays due to construction-related issues, the arena's first concert was Rock Star Supernova on 24 March 2007.

The venue has since hosted numerous local and international events, with a full list available from the official website. Vector Arena Website

Concerts are organised by various promoters and some events are in house promoted. Concerts organised by Live Nation Australia & New Zealand

Problems

Delays

Scheduled to open early 2006, this was first delayed towards the end of 2006, when a second opening date was again missed. The delays were apparently due to the Arena's builder, Mainzeal, having various problems with the structure, especially with the roof, where the 120 m main truss had to be strengthened, and where added insulation to waterproof the building against the humid local climate had to be included. In a related issue, extra ventilation also had to be installed to prevent internal humidity build-up during full-capacity events. The construction company reportedly faced huge losses on the project, and planned to sue the architects for partial compensation.

Suitability

Dave Rat, the sound engineer of The Red Hot Chili Peppers, has criticized the sound quality of the venue after the band played concerts in the Arena during April 2007. He noted that the echo from the curved roof was problematic, and that acoustic panels would need to be installed to improve the arena, especially for those listeners on the upper seating levels. He also criticised the polished concrete floors as too slippery for mass events.

Chris Tate(College Hill Limited), sound designer for Rockstar: Supernova's first concert at the arena, has however noted that the acoustics were better than expected, and could be improved further. It was also noted that such work is already in preparation.

Sports

Netball

Netball is regularly played at the venue with the New Zealand Silver Ferns playing on several occasions while the ANZ Championship has also used the arena on two occasions since 2010. The arena hosted the 2012 Fast5 Netball World Series.

Professional Wrestling

Since 2008 Vector Arena has also been a regular host of World Wrestling Entertainment's tours of New Zealand, with Raw, SmackDown and ECW all performing at the venue.

Ice Hockey

In 2011 some 10,000 fans saw an Ice Hockey international between Canada and the United States on a $4.2m temporary ice rink.

Basketball

Vector arena announced that it would host its first National Basketball League game on 28 October 2011 when the defending champion (and Auckland based) New Zealand Breakers take on the Sydney Kings in Round 4 of the 2011–12 NBL season. The Arena hosted two more Breakers games during the season, against the Townsville Crocodiles in Round 8 (24 November) and the Kings in Round 17 (27 January 2012).

That first NBL game at Vector Arena drew a New Zealand record crowd for a basketball game when 6,900 saw the NZ Breakers defeat the Kings 76-59. This record was again broken in Round 17 of the 2011-12 season when 7,979 saw the Breakers again defeat the Kings 93-64.

On 13 March 2012 New Zealand Breakers General Manager Richard Clarke announced that due to the amount of support for the team (which is more than double the capacity of their regular home venue, the 4,400 seat North Shore Events Centre), that all Breakers finals games would be played at Vector Arena with capacity set at 8,500, subject to demand, with extra seating to be sold if needed. The Breakers finished the 2011-12 season as minor premiers giving them home court advantage in the Semi-finals and Grand Final (if they qualified). The Breakers qualified for the 2011-12 NBL Grand Final against the Perth Wildcats with games 1 and 3 being played at Vector. Game 1 saw the attendance record broken when 9,125 showed to see the Breakers win 104-98 in overtime. With the Wildcats winning game 2 in Perth 87-86, game 3 was required and the NZ Breakers won their second straight NBL Championship with a 79-73 win in front of yet another record attendance of 9,285.

Before the 2012-13 NBL season, the Breakers confirmed that they will play 5 regular season games at Vector Arena. The first game, played in front of 6,625 fans, saw the home side defeat the Adelaide 36ers 73-59 on 12 October. There were four other games at the arena during the regular season, on 16 November (Townsville), 13 December (Cairns Taipans), 1 February 2013 (Perth) and 14 March 2013 (Melbourne Tigers).

The Breakers once again broke their attendance record during Game 1 of the 2012-13 NBL Grand Final series against the Perth Wildcats when a capacity 9,330 fans saw the home team defeat the Wildcats 79-67. The NZ Breakers won their third straight NBL Championship by wrapping up the series with a 70-66 win over the Wildcats in front of 13,527 fans at the Perth Arena.

For the 2013–14 NBL season, the Breakers will play half of their home games at Vector Arena, totaling seven appearance at the arena. These are the season opener against Wollongong (10 October), round six clash against Adelaide (15 November), round seven clash against Townsville (22 November), round 10 clash against Perth (13 December), round 16 clash against Sydney (30 January), round 18 clash against Cairns (14 February) and round 23 clash also against Cairns (21 March). The Breakers will both start and end their ordinary season at Vector Arena.

The Breakers game against the Adelaide 36ers on 15 November 2013 saw the home sides first ever loss at Vector Arena. The Breakers led 94-93 with just over four seconds of the game remaining and had the inbound pass due to a time out. However, 36ers point guard Gary Ervin stole the inbound pass and drove the length of the floor to score a layup just before time expired to give the 36ers a 95-94 win in front of 7,470 fans. The Breakers then lost their second game at the venue when they were defeated 71-62 by the Perth Wildcats on 13 December 2013 in front of 7,597 fans. As a measure of the teams it took to finally defeat the Breakers at Vector, the Wildcats and the 36ers would go on to play in the 2013-14 NBL Grand Final series (won 2-1 by Perth).

Mixed Martial Arts

The arena got to play host to UFC Fight Night: Te Huna vs. Marquardt with over 8000 seats filled in attendance on 28 June 2014, the first UFC event in New Zealand, headlined by New Zealand's own James Te Huna and also featured New Zealand-born Australian Robert Whittaker and Auckland native Dan Hooker.

Concerts

List of Concerts

• Rock Star Supernova – 24 March 2007
• The Red Hot Chili Peppers – 21–22 April 2007, with Har Mar Superstar and 14–15 January 2013, with Off!
• P!nk – 10 June 2007, with The Androids
• Guns N' Roses – 29–30 June 2007, with The Sebastian Bach Band and Rose Tattoo
• Gwen Stefani – 26 July 2007, with Gym Class Heroes
• Bob Dylan – 11 August 2007, with The Frames and 30 April 2011, with Tim Finn
• The Cure – 14 August 2007
• Snow Patrol – 14 September 2007, with Iain Archer and Opshop
• Steely Dan – 22 September 2007, with World Party and 4 November 2011, with Steve Winwood and Anika Moa
• Linkin Park – 11–12 October 2007, with Chris Cornell and 21 February 2013, with Stone Sour
• Powderfinger – 20 October 2007, with Silverchair
• Crowded House – 28 October 2007, with Supergroove
• The Beach Boys – 18 November 2007, with Christopher Cross
• Justin Timberlake – 23–24 and 26 November 2007 and 12–13 and 15 October 2014
• Lionel Richie – 28 November 2007, with Marcia Hines, 18 March 2011 and 23 March 2014, with John Farnham
• My Chemical Romance – 6 December 2007, with Circa Survive and Minuit
• The Summadayze Festival – 4 January 2008 and 10 January 2009
• Kings of Leon – 12 January 2008 and 25 March 2009, with The Stills
• Rod Stewart – 18–19 February 2008
• The Chemical Brothers – 28 February 2008 and 2 March 2011
• Santana – 4 March 2008, 20 March 2011 and 19 March 2013, with The Steve Miller Band
• The Smashing Pumpkins – 22 March 2008, with Queens of the Stone Age and 4 August 2012, with Die! Die! Die!
• Duran Duran – 26 March 2008, with Pluto
• Split Enz – 28–29 March 2008
• Matchbox 20 – 8 April 2008, with Thirsty Merc
• KoЯn – 24 April 2008, with Biohazard and Chimaira
• James Blunt – 30 April 2008
• The Foo Fighters – 5–6 May 2008, with The Mess Hall and The Skybombers
• Westlife – 10 May 2008, with Annabel Fay
• Elton John – 14 May 2008
• Mary J. Blige – 16 June 2008
• Andrea Bocelli – 20 August 2008, with Tina Arena and 11 September 2014
• Panic! at the Disco – 30 August 2008, with The Academy Is... and Cobra Starship
• The Music as a Weapon Festival – 9 September 2008 and 3 May 2011
• Rihanna – 27–28 October 2008, with Chris Brown and 6–8 October 2013, with GTA
• Stevie Wonder – 30 October 2008
• Seether – 8 November 2008, with Autozamm, Eqwanox and Corvino
• Def Leppard – 14 November 2008 and 12 October 2011, with Heart
• Kanye West – 1 December 2008, with Nas, Scribe, Kid Cudi, Consequence and DJ Craze
• John Mellencamp – 3 December 2008, with Sheryl Crow
• Alicia Keys – 6 December 2008, with Jordin Sparks and 19 December 2013, with John Legend
• Kylie Minogue – 8–9 December 2008
• The Yellow Pages Homemade Jam – 11 December 2008
• Billy Joel – 14 and 16 December 2008
• Leonard Cohen – 22 January 2009, with Paul Kelly, 28–29 October 2010 and 21 December 2013
• Nine Inch Nails – 17 February 2009, with The Naked and Famous and 19 March 2014, with Queens of the Stone Age and Brody Dalle
• Fall Out Boy – 23 February 2009, with The All-American Rejects and Hey Monday
• Eric Clapton – 4 March 2009, with The Danny McCrum Band
• Coldplay – 18–19 March 2009, with Mercury Rev and Hollie Smith
• The Wiggles – 28–29 March 2009 (4 shows), 27–28 March 2010 (4 shows), 23–24 April 2011 (4 shows) and 15–16 September 2012 (5 shows)
• Duffy – 31 March 2009
• The Pussycat Dolls – 16 May 2009, with Lady Gaga
• Simon & Garfunkel – 13–14 June 2009
• Il Divo – 2 October 2009
• The Black Eyed Peas – 13 October 2009, with LMFAO
• The Samoa Relief Concert – 19 October 2009
• The Johann Strauss Orchestra – 24–25 October 2009, 6 May 2011, with The Seekers and 25 October 2013
• Nickelback – 7 November 2009, with Sick Puppies and 30 November 2012
• Green Day – 18–19 December 2009, with Calling All Cars
• Them Crooked Vultures – 30 January 2010, with Cairo Knife Fight
• Faith No More – 18 February 2010, with The Eagles of Death Metal
• Cliff Richard – 24–25 February 2010, with The Shadows and 26 January 2013
• Boz Scaggs – 5 March 2010, with Michael McDonald and The Mick Fleetwood Blues Band
• The Backstreet Boys – 11 March 2010, with J. Williams
• The Pixies – 12 March 2010, with The Collapsing Cities
• Lady Gaga – 13–14 March 2010, with Semi Precious Weapons and 7–8 and 10 June 2012, with Lady Starlight
• Burt Bacharach – 19 March 2010
• Massive Attack – 25 March 2010
• James Taylor – 10 April 2010, with Carole King
• Kelly Clarkson – 11 April 2010, with Eric Hutchinson
• John Mayer – 28 April 2010, with Lisa Crawley and 26 April 2014, with Grace Potter and the Nocturnals
• Spandau Ballet – 29 April 2010, with Tears for Fears
• Yusuf Islam – 29 June 2010
• Paramore – 8 October 2010, with Relient K and 19 January 2014, with 21 Pilots
• Metallica – 13–14 October 2010, with Lamb of God and Baroness
• Simply Red – 17 October 2010
• Robin Gibb – 8 November 2010, with The Pointer Sisters
• George Benson – 19 November 2010
• Jack Johnson – 2 December 2010, with Tegan & Sara
• Bon Jovi – 5 December 2010
• Blondie – 16 December 2010, with The Pretenders
• Gorillaz – 21 December 2010, with De La Soul and Little Dragon
• Kenny Rogers – 21 January 2011, with The Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra and 12 August 2012, with John Rowles
• Joe Cocker – 27 January 2011, with George Thorogood & The Destroyers
• Neil Diamond – 26 and 28 February–1 March 2011
• The Stone Temple Pilots – 26 March 2011, with HLAH
• Usher – 5 April 2011, with Trey Songz and The Potbelleez
• Bruno Mars & The Hooligans – 18 April 2011, with Diafrix and 15–16 March 2014, with Miguel
• deadmau5 – 21 April 2011, with Skrillex
• Katy Perry – 7–8 May 2011, with Zowie and 19–20 December 2014, with Tove Lo
• Saltimbanco – 25 August–4 September 2011
• Joe – 15 September 2011, with Dei Hamo and DJ Reminisce
• The R&V Soundcheck Festival – 29 September 2011 and 5 October 2012
• Meat Loaf & His Neverland Express – 29 October 2011
• Portishead – 10 November 2011, with The Adults
• Cold Chisel – 3 December 2011
• Incubus – 31 January 2012, with Villainy
• Roger Waters & The Bleeding Heart Band – 18, 20 and 22–23 February 2012
• The Game – 25 February 2012, with Savage
• New Order – 27 February 2012, with Junica
• Fatboy Slim – 2 March 2012, with Skrillex, Die Antwoord and Porter Robinson
• Taylor Swift – 16–18 March 2012, with Hot Chelle Rae and 29 November–1 December 2013, with The Neon Trees
• Evanescence – 31 March 2012, with Blaqk Audio and Decortica
• Yes – 1 April 2012
• Frankie Valli & The 4 Seasons – 5 April 2012
• Reece Mastin – 14 April 2012, with Johnny Ruffo and Christina Parie
• David Guetta – 3 May 2012, with DJ Tim Phin, DJ Dick "Magik" Johnson and DJ Rich Carey
• Florence + The Machine – 28 May 2012, with Blood Orange and 21 November 2015
• Flight of the Conchords – 29 June–1 July 2012, with Arj Barker
• Kimbra – 28 July 2012, with The Black Seeds, Ruby Frost and Mt Eden
• Slash featuring Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators – 17 August 2012
• Hot Chelle Rae – 23 October 2012, with Cher Lloyd
• Mumford & Sons – 2 November 2012, with Sarah Blasko
• The Black Keys – 3 November 2012, with The Rubens
• Radiohead – 6 November 2012, with Connan Mockasin
• Emmylou Harris – 18 November 2012
• Nicki Minaj – 24 November 2012, with Tyga
• Morrissey – 15 December 2012, with Kristeen Young
• Weezer – 13 January 2013, with The Unknown Mortal Orchestra
• Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band – 9 February 2013
• Macklemore & Ryan Lewis – 22 February 2013, with Tinie Tempah
• Deep Purple – 24 February 2013, with Journey
• The Stone Roses – 26 February 2013
• The Offspring – 27 February 2013, with Billy Talent and Villainy
• Ed Sheeran – 9 March 2013 and 11–12 April 2015
• Glenn Frey – 10 March 2013, with Dane Rumble
• Neil Young & Crazy Horse – 21 March 2013, with The Drones
• The Jacksons – 26 March 2013
• Paul Simon – 8 April 2013, with Rufus Wainwright and 30 January 2015, with Sting
• Robert Plant & The Sensational Space Shifters – 10 April 2013, with The Blind Boys of Alabama
• The Script – 12 April 2013, with Brooke Duff and 5 May 2015 with Colton Avery
• Josh Groban – 13 April 2013
• Black Sabbath – 20 and 22 April 2013, with Shihad
• Tool – 8–9 May 2013, with Jakob
• Engelbert Humperdinck – 29 June 2013
• The Manic Street Preachers – 2 July 2013, with Ghost Wave
• Lorde – 7 September 2013, with Mt Eden and 1 November 2014
• One Direction – 12–13 October 2013, with 5 Seconds of Summer
• Beyoncé – 16–19 October 2013, with Stan Walker
• Michael Jackson: The Immortal – 30 October–3 November 2013 (7 shows)
• OneRepublic – 16 November 2013
• Justin Bieber – 23 November 2013, with Cody Simpson
• UB40 – 3 February 2014, with Toots and the Maytals
• The National – 4 February 2014, with Luluc
• Dolly Parton – 7–8 February 2014
• Ed Kowalczyk – 14 February 2014
• The WestFest – 19–20 February 2014
• Jason Derulo – 24 April 2014, with Titanium
• Joss Stone – 25 April 2014, with India.Arie
• The Arctic Monkeys – 2 May 2014, with Pond
• Michael Bublé – 21–22 May 2014, with Naturally 7
• Ellie Goulding – 7 June 2014, with Broods
• Queen + Adam Lambert – 3–4 September 2014
• Miley Cyrus – 8 October 2014, with The Faders
• Mariah Carey – 13 November 2014
• John Legend – 10 December 2014
• The Kooks – 15 January 2015, with Die! Die! Die!
• Roxette – 7 February 2015
• Drake – 23 February 2015, with 2 Chainz
• Jessie J – 11 March 2015
• Sam Smith - 22-23 April 2015, with Emma Louise
• Demi Lovato - 26 April 2015, with Jamie McDell
• 5 Seconds of Summer - 18 June 2015, with State Champs
• Bone Thugs-n-Harmony - 2 July 2015, with PNC
• Imagine Dragons - 8 September 2015, with The Rubens
• Maroon 5 - 3–4 October 2015, with Dirty Loops
• Robbie Williams - 3 November 2015
• Madonna - 5–6 March 2016
• Iron Maiden - 1 May 2016

Other events

Other performers such as comedians Jeff Dunham, Patrick Motion and Russell Brand have performed at the arena.

Mike Tyson was due to bring his Day of Champions tour the Vector Arena in 2012, but he was not granted a visa to enter the country due to his previous criminal convictions.

External links

• Vector Arena (official website of the arena, including seating plans)
• Vector Arena at Austadiums