AusLeisure

The multi-purpose Melbourne Arena is set to be renamed to honour the late Victoria Premier John Cain.

Current Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews announced today that the venue would be rebranded as John Cain Arena in tribute to the former state Premier, who died in December at the age of 88.

The 9,500-seat Melbourne Arena is one of the main venues used to stage the Australian Open tennis grand slam and also hosts games played by local basketball and netball teams.

The venue was formerly known as Hisense Arena but it became Melbourne Arena in 2018 after Chinese consumer electronics company Hisense ended the naming rights deal that it had held since 2008.

Announcing that the venue will change its name to John Cain Arena in the coming months after an agreement with Tennis Australia, Premier Andrews stated “John Cain made an enormous contribution to Victorian life and it’s particularly appropriate that we honour his legacy at Melbourne Park,” Andrews said in a statement reported by the Australian Associated Press news agency.

“People will see his name and know the story of a man who made our state a better place.”

John Cain served as Victoria Premier from 1982 to 1990 and played a major role in the Australian Open’s relocation from Melbourne’s Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club to the Melbourne Park complex in 1988.

This year’s Australian Open concluded yesterday, with Novak Djokovic securing the men's singles title and Sofia Kenin the women’s singles title.

A total of 812,174 fans attended the Australian Open over 14 days, smashing the previous attendance record of 796,435 from 2019. 

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