Brisbane Entertainment Centre

Brisbane Entertainment Centre
Boondall
Location Melaleuca Drive, Boondall, Queensland 4034
Coordinates 27°20′32″S 153°4′16″E / 27.34222°S 153.07111°E / -27.34222; 153.07111Coordinates: 27°20′32″S 153°4′16″E / 27.34222°S 153.07111°E / -27.34222; 153.07111
Owner Queensland State Government
Operator AEG Ogden
Capacity 14,500
Surface Customisable
Construction
Broke ground 1985
Opened 1986
Construction cost $71 million
Tenants
Brisbane Bullets (NBL) (1986–1997, 2007, 2016–present )

The Brisbane Entertainment Centre is a multi-purpose arena located in the Brisbane suburb of Boondall, Queensland, Australia. The centre is managed by AEG Ogden.

The arena has an array of seating plans which facilitate the comfort of its users, subject to performance. Specific seating plans are usually allocated, depending on the performance and the size of its audience. The general seating arrangements are end stage mode, "in the round" and intimate mode, which only uses half of the arena. The centre also houses a sporting complex and small function rooms which are available to hire for wedding reception and business functions.

The centre has 11,000 tiered seats and a maximum concert capacity of 14,500 making it the largest indoor live entertainment arena in Brisbane and the second largest permanent indoor arena in Australia behind only the 21,000 capacity Sydney Super Dome (it is smaller than the 14,820 seat Rod Laver Arena and the 14,856 seat Perth Arena, though both of those venues have a retractable roof).[1] It cost $71 million to construct.[2]

The centre's large audience capacity is mostly used for the staging of concerts and musical theatre shows, including Pink's The Truth About Love Tour, Grease, Beauty and the Beast, and The Man from Snowy River: Arena Spectacular. It has also staged ice-skating shows, including Disney on Ice. The Entertainment Centre was also the filming venue for the original Australian series of Gladiators from 1995 to 1997.

Location

Located in Boondall, just off the Gateway Motorway, patrons can catch a Queensland Rail City network service to Boondall railway station, on the Shorncliffe railway line, or travel by taxi. There are 4,000 car parking spaces. Buses do not run to the centre even on event nights.

Brisbane Bullets

From 1986–1997 the BEC was home to former NBL team the Brisbane Bullets.

The Bullets won the 1987 NBL championship against the Perth Wildcats, and secured their second NBL championship at this venue as they completed a two game sweep of the Wildcats 2-0 after winning the first game which was played at the Perth Superdome.[3]

In 1987, the Brisbane Bullets won their second NBL championship and their first at the Entertainment Centre with a 2-0 series win over the Perth Wildcats (the Bullets previous championship win in 1985 was at the Sleeman Sports Centre).

In 1990 the Brisbane Bullets hosted games 2 and 3 of the National Basketball League Grand Final series against the Perth Wildcats, setting a new NBL attendance record for the time in Australia of 13,221 for game 2.

In 2007, the Brisbane Bullets won their third and last NBL championship when they defeated the Melbourne Tigers 3-1 in their best of five game series. The Entertainment Centre was used due to a date clash with the Bullets then home, the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre.

The Brisbane Bullets returned to the NBL in 2016–17 and will again play some games at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre.[4]

Notable events

The opening event for the centre was on Thursday 20 February 1986, featuring World Champion, British ice skaters, Torvill and Dean. Ticket Prices were Adults $22.90 and Juniors $15.90[5]

The grounds of the Brisbane Entertainment Centre
The grounds of the Brisbane Entertainment Centre

In 1987, Michael Jackson performed during his Bad tour for two sold out shows on 27 and 28 November. On the 28th, Stevie Wonder appeared on stage and sang with Jackson.[6]

On November 19 later that year, Eric Clapton played a sold-out concert at the venue during his Journeyman World Tour in front of 14,500 people.

On 16 and 17 March 2016, Madonna performed at the arena as part of her Rebel Heart Tour. The second show gained international attention when the singer accidentally exposed the breast of a 17-year old woman on stage by pulling down her top; Madonna had jokingly responded "Oh sorry, sexual harassment". The incident caused controversy though several publications, where members of the public took to social media to label the incident as an assault.[7][8][9] Despite this, the 17-year old woman, who was identified as Josephine Georgiou, defended the singer by stating it was "the best time of my life". In spite of having been approached by lawyers offering to represent her, Georgiou also refused to launch legal action against the singer.[10]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Marissa Calligeros (17 October 2012). "Entertainment Centre in world's top 20". Brisbane Times. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 10 December 2012.
  2. ↑ Wanna, John; Robyn Davies (1995). "Local Resource Allocation in the City: Structural-Institutional Power". In Caulfield, Janice; Wanner, John. Power and Politics in the City: Brisbane in transition. Macmillan Education AU. p. 86. ISBN 0732929997. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
  3. ↑ National Basketball League: 1987 Archived 26 April 2011 at the Wayback Machine.. Retrieved on 22 March 2012.
  4. ↑ Brisbane Bullets vs Adelaide 36ers highlights - 2016
  5. ↑ http://www.brisent.com.au/Venue_Information/History.aspx, Retrieved on 9 July 2013
  6. ↑ Campbell, Lisa D. (1993). Michael Jackson: The King of Pop (1 ed.). Branden Books. p. 210. ISBN 978-0-8283-1957-7.
  7. ↑ Sydney Morning Herald staff (March 18, 2016). "Madonna exposes fan at second Brisbane show". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved March 19, 2016.
  8. ↑ Mizoguchi, Karen (March 18, 2016). "Madonna Pulls Down Female Fan's Top at Brisbane Concert, Tells Her: 'Oh Sorry, Sexual Harassment'". People.com. Retrieved March 19, 2016.
  9. ↑ Forrester, Katy (March 18, 2016). "Madonna shocks as she pulls down a female fan's TOP to reveal her bare breast on stage". Mirror.co.uk. Retrieved March 19, 2016.
  10. ↑ Saad, Nardine (March 18, 2016). "Wardrobe malfunction onstage with Madonna was the 'best moment,' 17-year-old girl says". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 19, 2016.

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