The arena was designed by
Philip Cox & Partners and the main contractor was
John Holland. Architectural features include a 1,200 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 was opened by
Prime Minister of Australia,
Malcolm Fraser, on
26 January 1981 as the
National Indoor Sports Centre. The AIS Arena has served as the home court for the
Canberra Cannons of the
National Basketball League (NBL), the
Canberra Capitals of the
Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) and, at times, the
Australian Institute of Sport WNBL team. 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. When it was first constructed, the venue had a seating capacity of 4,000. A major refurbishment in 1992 increased the capacity to 4,500. In 1995 the stadium underwent a further redevelopment that expanded capacity to 5,200, introduced a new main entrance, upgraded catering and corporate entertainment facilities, and added a café and the AIS Shop. During this redevelopment the venue was officially renamed the "AIS Arena". In 2014, the AIS invested in a $200,000 removable floor to help it tap into new markets to increase revenue by attracting more sports, concerts, ice skating and even indoor equestrian events at AIS Arena. In 2015 and 2016, the venue received a $9.4 million upgrade, with the refurbishment involving better seating and windows. It forced the Canberra Capitals to find an alternative home venue for the end of the
2015–16 WNBL season. The arena received $15 million worth of repair work and re-opened in 2024. For the
2024–25 WNBL season, the Capitals returned to the AIS Arena for the first time since the 2019–20 season. The
Canberra Brave of the
Australian Ice Hockey League made their temporary move to the arena for eleven games during the
2025 season before completion of their new arena. An ice surface was laid atop the existing floor at AIS Arena. ==References==