Wolfbrook Arena

Wolfbrook Arena

The arena, under old signage, in August 2019
Interactive map of Wolfbrook Arena
Former names	Westpac Trust Centre (1998–2007) Westpac Arena (2007–2010) CBS Canterbury Arena (2010–2014) Horncastle Arena (2014–2020) Christchurch Arena (2020–2023)
Address	55 Jack Hinton DriveAddington 8024ChristchurchNew Zealand
Location	55 Jack Hinton Drive Addington, ChristchurchCanterbury, New Zealand
Coordinates	43°32′45″S172°36′4″E / 43.54583°S 172.60111°E / -43.54583; 172.60111
Owner	Venues Ōtautahi
Operator	Venues Ōtautahi
Capacity	Netball: 7,200 Concerts: 9,000
Construction
Opened	12 September 1998
General contractor	Charles Luney
Tenants
Christchurch Sirens (WNBL) (2007) Canterbury Flames (National Bank Cup) (2002–2007) Canterbury Rams (NZNBL) (1999–2007) Mainland Tactix (ANZ Championship) (2008–present) New Zealand Breakers (NBL) (2003–2004) 1999 World Netball Championships

Wolfbrook Arena is an indoor arena in Christchurch, New Zealand. It is located in the suburb of Addington. Opened in September 1998, it has gone through a series of name changes, most recently in 2023, when it was renamed from Christchurch Arena.

Description

Main entrance of the arena (2020)

Wolfbrook Arena is New Zealand's second-largest indoor arena, with a maximum capacity of 9,000 (depending on event type); it was the largest until the construction of Auckland's Vector Arena in 2007. The indoor stadium hosts concerts, exhibitions and sporting events. Provision for international sport and traditional indoor arena events was integrated into the design requirements. It has over 6,700 seats for sporting fixtures, which can increase to over 7,000 for concerts.

The Sports and Entertainment complex is located adjacent to the Addington Raceway and Christchurch Stadium and is surrounded by 3,000 car parking spaces. The complex is only 10 minutes from the city centre.

It has been affectionately dubbed 'The Woolshed' by Canterbury Rams basketball fans. Some Christchurch citizens colloquially refer to the arena as the horseshoe, due to its unusual architectural exterior design.

History

Construction company Chas S Luney Ltd built the stadium.^[1] The arena opened in September 1998 at a cost of NZ$32 million. In the first ever sporting match at CBS Canterbury Arena, the Canterbury Rams basketball team suffered a close loss to the Wellington Saints 86–81 in April 1999.

It was built for two main reasons: primarily for the 1999 Netball World Cup in Christchurch, and also because Christchurch was missing out on many concerts and other attractions because it did not have a suitable indoor arena in the city.

Westpac Arena, which had previously been named WestpacTrust Centre, was renamed CBS Canterbury Arena on 18 June 2010.^[2] It was renamed Horncastle Arena on 23 July 2014,^[3] then Christchurch Arena on 19 September 2020. It was renamed Wolfbrook Arena, after sponsor Wolfbrook Property Group, on 1 June 2023.^[4]

Sporting home teams

• Canterbury Rams (1999–2007)^[5]
• Christchurch Sirens (2007)
• Canterbury Flames (2002–2007)
• Mainland Tactix (2008–present)

Events

Entertainment events

Entertainment events at Christchurch Arena
Year	Date	Nationalities	Artists	Events
1998	12 September	United States	Bob Dylan	Never Ending Tour 1998
	27 November	United States	Janet Jackson	The Velvet Rope Tour
	28 November
1999	14 August	United States	Creed
2002	27 November	United States	P!nk	Party Tour
2003	18 February	United Kingdom	Cliff Richard	Wanted World Tour
	19 February
2005	22 February	United States	Cher	Living Proof: The Farewell Tour
	6 October	United States	Black Eyed Peas	Monkey Business Tour
	20 November	United States	Kelly Clarkson	Breakaway World Tour
2007	3 July	United States	Guns N' Roses	Chinese Democracy World Tour
	8 August	United States	Bob Dylan	Never Ending Tour 2007
	15 September	United Kingdom	Snow Patrol	Eyes Open Tour
	16 October	Australia	PowderfingerSilverchair	Across the Great Divide Tour
	25 November	United Kingdom	Muse	Black Holes and Revelations Tour
2008	7 May	Ireland	Westlife	Back Home Tour
	12 September	United States	Disturbed	Indestructible Tour (Music as a Weapon)
	28 October	United States	Stevie Wonder	Wonder Spring Summer World Tour 2008
2009	22 February	United Kingdom	Iron Maiden	Somewhere Back in Time World Tour
2010	16 February	United States	Faith No More	The Second Coming Tour
	1 March	United Kingdom	Cliff RichardThe Shadows	The Final Reunion Tour
	5 March	United States	Paramore	Brand New Eyes World Tour
	8 April	United States	Carole KingJames Taylor	Troubadour Reunion Tour
	21 September	United States	MetallicaThe Sword	World Magnetic Tour (Metallica)Warp Riders Tour (The Sword)
	22 September
	3 November	Canada	Leonard Cohen	Leonard Cohen Tour 2008–2010
2011	10 February	United Kingdom	Sting – along with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.	Symphonicity Tour
	10 May	United States	Disturbed	Asylum Tour
	20 November	New Zealand	Hayley Westenra	Paradiso 10th Anniversary Homecoming Tour
2012	10 April	Australia	Reece Mastin	Australia and New Zealand Tour
	19 August	United States	Slash	Apocalyptic Love World Tour
	6 November	United Kingdom	Mumford & Sons	—N/a
2013	20 February	United States	Macklemore & Ryan Lewis	—N/a Note: This show was organised as a student-only event by the University of Canterbury Students' Association, it was originally planned to be held at the Ilam Gardens but the event has since been re-located to allow extra tickets to be sold.
	23 February	Australia	Reece Mastin	The Summer Nights Tour
	10 October	IrelandUnited Kingdom	One Direction	Take Me Home Tour
	14 December	Canada	Leonard Cohen	Old Ideas World Tour
2014	20 March	United States	Lionel Richie	All the Hits, All Night Long[6][7]
	22 March	United States	Nine Inch Nails	Twenty Thirteen Tour
	10 September	United States	Bob Dylan	Never Ending Tour 2014[8][9]
2015	8 April	United Kingdom	Ed Sheeran	x Tour[10][11][12][13][14]
	21 April	Puerto Rico	Ricky Martin	One World Tour[15]
	10 September	United States	Imagine Dragons	Smoke + Mirrors Tour[16][17][18]
	2 October	United States	Maroon 5	Maroon V Tour[19][20]
2016	29 April	United Kingdom	Iron Maiden	The Book of Souls World Tour[21][22][23]
	28 July	Australia	Troye Sivan	Blue Neighbourhood Tour[24][25]
	30 July	United States	Macklemore & Ryan Lewis	The Unruly Mess I've Made Tour[26][27][28]
	18 August(1 Show)	—N/a		Disney on Ice: Magical Ice Festival[29][30]
	19 August(2 Shows)
	20 August(3 Shows)
	21 August(3 Shows)
	29 September	United Kingdom	Ellie Goulding	Delirium World Tour[31][32]
2018	24 April	United States	The Killers	Wonderful Wonderful World Tour[33]
2020	5 March	Norway	A-ha	Hunting High and Low Live Tour[34]
2022	25 November	United States	The Killers	Imploding the Mirage Tour
2024	23 October	United Kingdom	Thom Yorke	Everything (tour)
2026	13 February	New Zealand	Lorde	Ultrasound World Tour[35]

Sporting

It has hosted a number of different sporting events, including home matches for the Canterbury Rams (basketball), New Zealand Breakers (basketball) and Mainland Tactix (netball) teams. It occasionally hosts international basketball and netball fixtures featuring the Tall Blacks and Silver Ferns respectively. It was the host of the 1999 Netball World Championships. It has hosted many non-regular sporting events, including various celebrity tennis matches, ice shows, disabled games, karate championships and gymnastics competitions.

In 2007 and 2008 the arena hosted WWEprofessional wrestling tours, featuring the SmackDown and ECW brands. It again hosted a WWE event in September 2017, this time a Raw branded event.

Other uses

The arena plays a key role in the Christchurch economy, hosting annual trade shows, including the Christchurch Home Show, Women's Lifestyle Expo, Armageddon Expo, and the Go Green Expo.

Christchurch Arena is managed by Venues Otautahi, the venue management company that also manages the Christchurch Town Hall, Apollo Projects Stadium, Airforce Museum of New Zealand and Hagley Oval Pavilion. The combined facilities regularly host a variety of different events

The venue is also used for big gala dinners, lunches, balls, and cocktail parties.

See also

• List of indoor arenas in New Zealand

References

1. "Charles Seymour Luney (Chas), QSO, CNZM 1905 – 2006". Christchurch City Libraries. Retrieved 5 June 2011.
2. Heather, Ben (19 June 2010). "CBS takes venue naming rights". The Press. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
3. Meier, Cecile (24 July 2014). "Arena sponsor 'here for the long haul'". The Press. Retrieved 19 October 2014.
4. "New name for Christchurch Arena". Otago Daily Times. 24 May 2023. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
5. "Basketball returns home to Cowles", Christchurch City Council, Media Release 29 September 2007.
6. "Lionel Richie and John Farnham NZ Tour at Horncastle Arena – eventfinda.co.nz". eventfinda.co.nz. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
7. "Lionel Richie and John Farnham NZ Tour in New Plymouth – stuff.co.nz". Stuff. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
8. "Bob Dylan lands in Christchurch – stuff.co.nz". Stuff. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
9. "Review: Bob Dylan in Christchurch – stuff.co.nz". Les Kokay – stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
10. "Ed Sheeran – eventfinda.co.nz". eventfinda.co.nz. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
11. "Gig guide: Event details – undertheradar.co.nz". undertheradar.co.nz. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
12. "Ed Sheeran's secret show in Christchurch – stuff.co.nz". Vicki Anderson – stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
13. "Review: Ed Sheeran captivates Christchurch – stuff.co.nz". Vicki Anderson – stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
14. "Ed Sheeran delights fans with secret Christchurch show – nzherald.co.nz". The New Zealand Herald. 24 September 2014. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
15. "Ricky Martin – eventfinda.co.nz". eventfinda.co.nz. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
16. "Gig guide: Event details – undertheradar.co.nz". undertheradar.co.nz. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
17. "Tour news: Imagine Dragons conjure up two NZ shows". The New Zealand Herald. March 2015. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
18. "Imagine Dragons to play Auckland, Christchurch". Newshub. Archived from the original on 23 September 2016. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
19. "Maroon 5 add extra Australia and New Zealand shows to 2015 tour plans - stereoboard.com". Jon Stickler - stereoboard.com. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
20. "Review: Maroon 5 V Tour – stuff.co.nz". James Croot – stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
21. "Iron Maiden – eventfinda.co.nz". eventfinda.co.nz. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
22. "Maiden announce details of concerts in New Zealand and Australia in April/May 2016 - ironmaiden.com". ironmaiden.com. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
23. "Review: Iron Maiden at Christchurch's Horncastle Arena – stuff.co.nz". Nicole Mathewson – stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
24. "Troye Sivan – eventfinda.co.nz". eventfinda.co.nz. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
25. "Concert Review: Passionate Troye Sivan connects with Christchurch crowd – stuff.co.nz". Enya Beynon – stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
26. "Macklemore & Ryan Lewis – eventfinda.co.nz". eventfinda.co.nz. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
27. "Macklemore and Ryan Lewis back on tour, returning to Auckland – stuff.co.nz". Stuff. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
28. "Macklemore & Ryan Lewis live in New Zealand – scoop.co.nz". scoop.co.nz. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
29. "Tour information – disney.com.au". disney.com.au. Archived from the original on 7 September 2016. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
30. "Disney on Ice presents Magical Ice Festival – eventfinda.co.nz". eventfinda.co.nz. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
31. "Ellie Goulding – eventfinda.co.nz". eventfinda.co.nz. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
32. "Ellie Goulding heads to New Zealand for Delirium tour – stuff.co.nz". Hannah McKee – stuff.co.nz. 17 February 2016. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
33. Gates, Charlie (25 April 2018). "The Killers thrill large Christchurch crowd". Stuff. Retrieved 26 February 2025.
34. "A-ha and Rick Astley announce two New Zealand shows". 16 July 2019.
35. Courtney, Fry (10 July 2025). "Lorde is bringing her Ultrasound world tour home down under in early 2026". ABC. Archived from the original on 10 July 2025. Retrieved 10 July 2025.

External links

• Venues Ōtautahi – venue manager for Christchurch Arena. Lists upcoming events and allows to take a virtual tour of the Arena