Wolfbrook Arena, located at 55 Jack Hinton Drive, Addington, Christchurch 8024, New Zealand, is a multi-purpose indoor arena that offers a wide range of facilities for meetings, conferences, and events. Here is a detailed description of its meeting and event capabilities:
Meeting and Event Facilities
- Capacity and Layout: The arena has a maximum seating capacity of 8,888 for concerts and up to 7,200 for sports events. It features a mix of retractable telescopic seating (3,704 seats) and riser-mounted gallery seats (2,225 seats), with an additional 2,960 loose floor seats available when the retractable seats are extended.
- Function Rooms: While Wolfbrook Arena is primarily known as a large indoor arena, it does not have dedicated function rooms in the traditional sense. However, it can be configured to accommodate various event layouts, including exhibitions, concerts, and sporting events. The arena's flexible design allows it to host a variety of functions, from lifestyle expos to opera performances, and it has been used for big gala dinners, lunches, balls, and cocktail parties.
- Services: The arena offers comprehensive event management services, including catering, security, and efficient entry and exit procedures. It is well-equipped to handle large-scale events with amenities such as food and drink bars, although there have been occasional complaints about the availability of these amenities during events.
Event Hosting
Wolfbrook Arena has a rich history of hosting various events, including:
- Entertainment Events: The arena has hosted numerous concerts by international artists such as Bob Dylan, Janet Jackson, Pnk, Cliff Richard, Cher, and Black Eyed Peas.
- Sporting Events: It has been the home ground for the Canterbury Rams (basketball), Canterbury Flames (basketball), and Mainland Tactix (netball) teams. It also hosts international basketball and netball fixtures featuring the Tall Blacks and Silver Ferns respectively.
- Trade Shows and Expos: The arena regularly hosts annual trade shows like the Christchurch Home Show, Women's Lifestyle Expo, Armageddon Expo, and the Go Green Expo.
Venue Management
Wolfbrook Arena is managed by Venues Ōtautahi, which also manages other prominent venues in Christchurch, including the Christchurch Town Hall and Hagley Oval Pavilion. This ensures that the arena is well-managed and equipped to handle a variety of events efficiently.