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TSB Arena

Former names	Queens Wharf Events Centre (1995–2006)
Address	4 Queens Wharf Wellington 6011, New Zealand
Location	Wellington Central
Coordinates	41°17′8″S 174°46′44″E / 41.28556°S 174.77889°E / -41.28556; 174.77889
Owner	Wellington City Council
Operator	Venues Wellington
Capacity	5,655
Construction
Opened	1995
Expanded	2005
Architect	Craig, Craig & Moller
Tenants
Wellington Saints (NBL) (1995–present) Central Pulse (ANZ) (2008–present) Richter City Roller Derby (WFTDA) (2009–present)
Website
https://www.venueswellington.com/venues/tsb-bank-arena-and-auditorium-shed-6/

The TSB Arena (formerly known as the Queens Wharf Events Centre and then TSB Bank Arena) is an indoor arena in Wellington, hosting basketball games, roller derby, music concerts, conventions and exhibitions.

History

In the 1990s Lambton Harbour Management, a company controlled by Wellington City Council, was involved in developing Queens Wharf as an entertainment area. Two large buildings, Queens Wharf Retail Centre and Queens Wharf Events Centre, were officially opened by Sir Peter Blake on 18 November 1995. The buildings were designed by the architect to look like wharf sheds, but were criticised for being out of scale with other waterfront buildings. Lobby group Waterfront Watch described the events centre as "a monstrous eyesore resembling a Soviet ablution block". The retail centre was an immediate failure, and the building was sold in 1998 to be converted into office space. The events centre continued to operate, and in 2006 was renamed the TSB Bank Arena after TSB Bank bought the naming rights for an eight-year period.

When it was opened the events centre had capacity for between 3500 and 4000 spectators. There was seating on the ground floor and on a mezzanine floor, and all the seats were retractable. The main hall had a sprung wooden floor.

In 2002, then mayor Kerry Prendergast suggested that the events centre be converted into a convention centre, but in 2005 the number of seats was increased to 4,570 as part of a redevelopment and expansion plan. Further upgrades took place in 2014.

In a newspaper article in April 2007, the Wellington Architectural Centre rated TSB Arena as Wellington's second worst building (after New World Chaffers), saying it was inward-looking, unengaging and "awful" for its prime waterfront location. The architect responded:

Our original design was for a much lower-scale building with active edges for shops, restaurants and marine-related activities. During the development phase by the client the brief changed to include much larger and inward-looking facilities. The size and nature of the building grew dramatically, despite vigorous advocacy by us for the original design and scale. It went ahead in that form and proved to me how in the early 1990s, aggressive commercial attitudes resulted in questionable outcomes.

In July 2011 Venues Wellington (trading as Positively Wellington Venues), an organisation created from a merger of the St James Theatre Charitable Trust and the Wellington Convention Centre and controlled by Wellington City Council, began managing the arena along with five other venues in the city.

About

The arena hosts basketball games and is the home arena for the Century City Saints and part-time home arena of the New Zealand Breakers when they play in Wellington. It was also the home arena for the Richter City Roller Derby, which started to play here in the middle of their 2009 season. It hosts expositions and conventions such as the Armageddon Pulp Expo and the DCM Book Fair. In 2005, the annual World of Wearable Art Awards (WOW) show moved from Nelson to Wellington, to the TSB Arena. In 2007 the first Māori Art Market was held in the arena before moving to the suburban Te Rauparaha Arena in Porirua City.

The arena also operates as a music venue, but does not have ideal acoustics and professional sound treatment; for example, the retractable stadium traps all reflections (early and late) also acting as a bass trap (wanted or unwanted), thus impairing a clear sound. Liam Gallagher of the band Oasis complained bitterly about the sound quality while performing at the venue in 1998. As a smaller live venue, TSB Arena is still able attract overseas acts.

Concerts

See also

• List of indoor arenas in New Zealand

References

1. Wellington Convention Centres
2. ^ "City Voice, 16th November 1995". Wellington City Libraries. pp. 2, 8, 27. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
3. ^ Johnson, Ann-Marie (17 June 2002). "Mayor has plans for detested events centre". Evening Post. ProQuest 314816986.
4. ^ "City Voice, 19th October 1995". Wellington City Libraries. p. 2. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
5. O'Neil, Andrea (17 July 2015). "Wellington's Queens Wharf failed to fire – 150 years of news". Stuff. Archived from the original on 10 July 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
6. "New exposure for TSB Bank". Taranaki Daily News. 11 August 2006. ProQuest 315249391.
7. "Positively Wellington Venues Q2 Review to 31 December 2014" (PDF). 2014.
8. Dickens, David (11 April 2007). "Boom has thrown up a few dogs; what makes a good building". Dominion Post. ProQuest 338345029.
9. Wellington Venues Limited. Positively Wellington Venues 2014/2015: SOI and business plan: Appendix 3 [report] (PDF). Wellington City Council. p. 27.
10. "To establish a new Council-controlled trading organisation to manage the merged operations of the St James Theatre Charitable Trust and the Wellington Convention Centre" (PDF). Wellington City Council. 1 June 2010.
11. "TSB Arena in Wellington, New Zealand". www.wellington-guide.ca. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
12. Livingston, Tom (26 September 2019). "WOW gears up for another successful season in the capital". Stuff. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
13. ^ "Events at TSB Arena - Stuff Events". Stuff. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
14. "Maori Art Market". www.maoriartmarket.com. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
15. "Wellington's Toi Maori Art Market arrives late thanks to November earthquake". Stuff. 15 March 2017. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
16. Burgess, Dave (20 December 2014). "Railyards venue plan for concerts". Dominion Post. ProQuest 1638178295. Positively Wellington Tourism chief executive David Perks said "It has a lot to do with sound quality and seating arrangements. My understanding is that TSB is the wrong shape, and elevation, and all of these things. TSB has always been something of a compromise between a concert hall, a sporting venue and a conference space."
17. "Not the venue of our choice ". Dominion Post. 9 April 2008. ProQuest 338329127. Its acoustics are appalling and many people, myself included, now refuse to go to shows there, having been disappointed in the past. It's fine as a sports arena or exhibition hall, which was its design purpose, but it's basically a tin shed and the music bounces around, creating a cacophony of indecipherable sound.
18. FYFE, Anna (11 March 1998). "Oasis could learn from Beatles". Dominion. ProQuest 315019029.
19. Shelton, Lindsay (25 November 2011). "Ronan Keating coming to Wellington in February". Wellington Scoop. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
20. "The Black Keys: SOLD OUT". eventfinda.co.nz. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
21. Sweetman, Simon (8 November 2012). "Review: The Black Keys in Wellington". stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
22. "Reece Mastin Beautiful Nightmare 2013 Tour". eventfinda.co.nz. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
23. Sweetman, Simon (25 February 2013). "Review: Reece Mastin at TSB". stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
24. "OneRepublic Auckland & Wellington Shows Announced". eventfinda.co.nz. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
25. "OneRepublic". eventfinda.co.nz. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
26. "Win a meet and greet with OneRepublic". stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
27. "OneRepublic to rock Wellington". stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
28. "Leonard Cohen". eventfinda.co.nz. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
29. "Tour news: Leonard Cohen to play three NZ shows". NZ Herald. 30 July 2013. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
30. Mushroom Group (27 July 2013). "Leonard Cohen returning to Wellington in December". scoop.co.nz (Press release). Retrieved 5 October 2016.
31. Scherer, Jule (18 December 2013). "Review: Leonard Cohen in Wellington". stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
32. "Arctic Monkeys announce two NZ shows". stuff.co.nz. 28 November 2013. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
33. "Slash - World On Fire". eventfinda.co.nz. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
34. "SLASH - World On Fire Tour - Hamilton, Wellington". scoop.co.nz. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
35. Dastgheib, Shabnam (17 February 2015). "Slash warns fans not to expect any tricks". stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
36. "Ed Sheeran". eventfinda.co.nz. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
37. Scherer, Jule (11 April 2015). "Review: Ed Sheeran feels the love in Wellington". stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
38. "Ricky Martin". eventfinda.co.nz. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
39. Fagan, Josh (18 April 2015). "Ricky Martin's still got the moves". stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
40. Morris, Colin (19 April 2015). "Review: Ricky Martin gives Wellington what it wants". stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
41. "Twenty One Pilots Emotional Roadshow World Tour". eventfinda.co.nz. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
42. "Twenty One Pilots announce more New Zealand shows". stuff.co.nz. 10 May 2016. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
43. "Take That". wellingtonnz.com. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
44. "Imagine Dragons". Fontier Touring. Retrieved 8 February 2023.

External links

• Media related to TSB Bank Arena at Wikimedia Commons

• 1995 establishments in New Zealand
• Basketball venues in New Zealand
• Defunct National Basketball League (Australia) venues
• Netball venues in New Zealand
• Music venues in New Zealand
• Sports venues in New Zealand
• Indoor arenas in New Zealand
• Convention centres in New Zealand
• Concert halls in New Zealand
• Sports venues in Wellington City
• 1990s architecture in New Zealand