AIS Arena

Multipurpose arena in Canberra, Australia

AIS Arena is a multi purpose arena in Canberra, Australia. Its capacity is 5,200 and it was built in 1980. The arena was opened by the Prime Minister of Australia, Malcolm Fraser, on 26 January 1981 and was originally named the National Indoor Sports Centre and was the inaugural home of the Australian Institute of Sport.

The arena was designed by Philip Cox & Partners and the main contractor was John Holland Group. Architectural features include a 1200 tonne suspended concrete panel roof supported by 12 steel masts and 36 mainstay cables. The roof has a span of 100.4 metres. The stadium is partly set into the ground to reduce its scale and to establish a visual connection between the landscape and the mast and cable structure of the roof. The arena has been home to the Canberra Cannons of the National Basketball League (NBL) and the Canberra Capitals and Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) of the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL). While the Cannons were playing at the arena it was known as "The Palace". The arena has hosted Australian Boomers and Australian Opals international basketball games, as well as the Australian Netball Diamonds. The arena has also hosted the Canberra Roller Derby League and many concerts. The arena was shut down in 2020 due to the COVID 19 pandemic and its poor fire safety. It was later used as a mass vaccination clinic. The arena received $15 million worth of repair work and is set to re open in 2024.