Perth Arena

About

Perth Arena (known commercially as RAC Arena) is an entertainment and sporting arena in the city centre of Perth, Western Australia, used mostly for basketball matches. It is located on Wellington Street near the site of the former Perth Entertainment Centre, and was officially opened on 10 November 2012. Perth Arena was the first stage of the Perth City Link, a 13.5-hectare (33-acre) major urban renewal and redevelopment project which involved the sinking of the Eastern Railway to link the Perth central business district directly with Northbridge. Anchor tenants of Perth Arena include the Perth Wildcats, West Coast Fever, and until 2019, the Hopman Cup.

Perth Arena is owned by VenuesWest (which operates the Perth High Performance Centre, Arena Joondalup, WA Basketball Centre, and others) on behalf of The Government of Western Australia and has been managed by Legends Global since opening. From July 2026, VenuesWest will also assume management of the facility.

The inaugural General Manager of Perth Arena was David Humphreys, former General Manager of the Perth Entertainment Centre and the Sydney SuperDome. Humphreys died two months before the venue's opening. AEG Ogden announced Steve Hevern as the interim General Manager on 3 October 2012.

The tender for the project was won by Western Australian construction consortium BGC, and work commenced on the site in June 2007. The arena was jointly designed by architectural firms Ashton Raggatt McDougall and Cameron Chisholm Nicol. With its design based on the Eternity puzzle, the venue holds up to 13,910 spectators for tennis events, 14,846 for basketball (the arena's capacity is capped at 13,000 for National Basketball League regular season games) and a maximum of 15,000 for music or rock concerts. The venue has a retractable roof, 36 luxury appointed corporate suites, a 680-bay underground car park, 5 dedicated function spaces, and touring trucks can drive directly onto the arena floor.

The construction was marred by controversy in relation to the cost and time blowouts from the original $150 million estimate to $550 million. Auditor General Colin Murphy reported in 2010 that "the initial estimates of the cost and opening date for the Arena were unrealistic and made before the project was well understood or defined." An example of the modifications to the original Arena design is the change of the carpark location from being built above the nearby railway line as a separate project to underneath the Arena itself.

For the first six years of operation, Perth Arena retained its non-commercial name. In September 2018, the venue name was changed to RAC Arena. The Royal Automobile Club of Western Australia (RAC) agreed to a five-year naming rights arrangement, with the deal estimated to be worth about $10 million to the Government of Western Australia. Prior to the name change, the Government of Western Australia had paid around $8 million to stadium operator AEG Ogden as compensation for not being able to sell the naming rights.

The tender for the project was won by Western Australian construction consortium BGC, and work commenced on the site in June 2007. The arena was jointly designed by architectural firms Ashton Raggatt McDougall and Cameron Chisholm Nicol. With its design based on the Eternity puzzle, the venue holds up to 13,910 spectators for tennis events, 14,846 for basketball (the arena's capacity is capped at 13,000 for National Basketball League regular season games) and a maximum of 15,000 for music or rock concerts. The venue has a retractable roof, 36 luxury appointed corporate suites, a 680-bay underground car park, 5 dedicated function spaces, and touring trucks can drive directly onto the arena floor.

The construction was marred by controversy in relation to the cost and time blowouts from the original $150 million estimate to $550 million. Auditor General Colin Murphy reported in 2010 that "the initial estimates of the cost and opening date for the Arena were unrealistic and made before the project was well understood or defined." An example of the modifications to the original Arena design is the change of the carpark location from being built above the nearby railway line as a separate project to underneath the Arena itself.

For the first six years of operation, Perth Arena retained its non-commercial name. In September 2018, the venue name was changed to RAC Arena. The Royal Automobile Club of Western Australia (RAC) agreed to a five-year naming rights arrangement, with the deal estimated to be worth about $10 million to the Government of Western Australia. Prior to the name change, the Government of Western Australia had paid around $8 million to stadium operator AEG Ogden as compensation for not being able to sell the naming rights.

On 8 and 9 November 2013, the American musician Beyoncé played 2 sold-out shows there to conclude the Oceania leg of her world tour, The Mrs Carter Show World Tour.

On 20 August 2014, Lady Gaga performed at the arena for her artRAVE: The ARTPOP Ball.

On 29 October and 1 November 2014, The Rolling Stones played two sold out nights at the venue on their first visit to Perth since 1995.

On 14 March 2015, Australian singer Kylie Minogue performed at the arena as part of her Kiss Me Once Tour. On 15 February 2025, she returned for a stop on her Tension Tour.

On 4 August 2018, French Canadian singer Celine Dion performed at the arena for the first time, as a part of Celine Dion Live 2018. This was the first show by Dion, since her Taking Chances World Tour, to be held in Perth.

On 12 October 2018, American singer-actress Cher performed for the first time at the Arena as part of her Here We Go Again Tour.

In 2022, it was announced that Perth Arena would be the new host for the Channel Seven Perth Telethon.

On 29 and 30 September 2022, the American singer-songwriter Billie Eilish performed her final two dates in Australia during her tour, Happier Than Ever: The World Tour.

On 25 October 2023, Irish folk-rock band The Corrs performed at the arena as part of their 2023 tour of Australasia and Southeast Asia. The group was supported by Australian pop singer Natalie Imbruglia, as well as Toni Childs and Germein.

Perth Arena hosted its first National Basketball League game on 16 November 2012 when the Perth Wildcats played (and lost) against the Adelaide 36ers in front of a crowd of 11,562. The attendance was the largest recorded in Western Australia for an indoor event, breaking the previous record of 8,501 set at the Burswood Dome in 2004. The arena has since hosted larger crowds, with the current record being 13,661 set in December 2025.

With a capacity of 14,846, Perth Arena is the second-largest venue currently in use in the NBL ( 2016–17 ) behind the Sydney SuperDome (18,200). The arena is also the third largest venue ever used in the NBL behind Sydney and the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne (15,400).