HISTORY
The Adelaide Entertainment Centre was established by the Government of South Australia in response from the people of South Australia for a suitable venue to host and stage international touring artists and entertainment. The Centre was built at a cost of $44m. Building commenced in early 1990, with the Honourable John Bannon, Premier of South Australia, officially opening it on 20 July 1991.
Over 750,000 hours were been spent on construction of the Adelaide Entertainment Centre. More than 75,200 tonnes of earth was excavated from the site, and 36,480 tonnes of concrete was used in construction making it the biggest concrete slab pour in South Australia.
12,000 hours of painting were required to finish the Adelaide Entertainment Centre (that's one painter working non-stop for 7 years and 4 months!). 12,400 litres in 7 colours were used.
The Centre boasts 8,500 square metres of carpet, 1,000 square metres of vinyl, 2,700 metres of stair nosings, and more than 50,000 ceramic floor and wall tiles. Outside there are 350,000 paving bricks to walk on! And 747,000 kilometres of cabling was installed throughout the Centre.
Advanced security and safety installations including cameras, smoke and heat detection systems are a feature of the Centre. Fire fighting equipment includes over 100 extinguishers, 4,000 overhead sprinklers, 42 hose reels and pumps that can boost water supply to more than 8,000 litres per minute.
The arena floor area is 65.4 metres by 42.1 metres. The clear span of the auditorium is 85 metres. From the arena floor to the top of the roof is approximately 20 metres. This is equivalent to a 5 storey building.
980 tonnes of structural steel were used in the construction of the Adelaide Entertainment Centre and its roof. These include 8 trusses weighing a total of 216 tonnes. Each truss spans 85 metres.
The arena is a multi purpose facility with a capacity of nearly 12,000 people. Renowned as a concert stage to the world’s biggest stars, the Adelaide Entertainment Centre’s arena can also be adapted into many configurations for banquets, conventions, conferences, exhibitions, trade fairs, sporting events and entertainment spectaculars.
It has also built up an enviable reputation for being on of South Australia’s leading function venues. The Centre boasts two stunning function rooms named the Alchemy and Rubikon, which can cater for up to 250 banquet style or 400 for cocktails.
The South Australian Government assigned responsibility for the management of the Adelaide Entertainment Centre to the Grand Prix Board in 1989. In August 1998, the Government established the Adelaide Entertainments Corporation as a subsidiary of the Minister for Tourism under the Public Corporations Act 1993. A new Board of Directors for the Centre was formally appointed on 8 February 1999.
The Adelaide Entertainment Centre is a community facility. Since opening it has staged hundreds of concerts and entertained millions of patrons. In addition, it has hosted many conferences, exhibitions, meetings and special events. It is achieving its vision of making Adelaide a more attractive, liveable city.