January 15, 2015

The Australian Open tennis championship is upon us, with a redeveloped Margaret Court Arena showing off its new look at the tournament.

The Arena has undergone a major upgrade that has seen the installation of a new high-tech operable roof and full air conditioning to the new stadium. The redevelopment has also increased seated crowd capacity by 1,500 to 7,500.

The sleek and acoustically lined operable roof is believed to be the world’s fastest moving stadium roof, able to open or close in less than five minutes. It enables the multi-purpose Arena to host sporting and concert events throughout the year, and is providing an additional enclosed venue for the 2015 Australian Open tennis tournament, protecting against Melbourne’s unpredictable weather.

As part of the multimillion dollar transformation by Major Projects Victoria, A.G. Coombs Projects was awarded the Melbourne Park Western Precinct contract by construction contractors Lend Lease. The scope included the provision of HVAC and mechanical services to the Arena, as well as to an extended concourse area that joins Margaret Court Arena with Rod Laver Arena. It incorporated the design coordination, installation, commissioning and ongoing service and maintenance of the new chillers, boilers, air handling plant and ducted air distribution required to properly air condition the new enclosed space.

A number of the new air conditioning systems have been installed within the new operable roof structure. This installation had to meet specific operational and service requirements and needed to be integrated into the roof’s irregular shape, whilst providing safe and ready access for maintenance. The A.G. Coombs team drew on its 3D drafting and modelling capability using the technology to address the complicated design challenges and help ensure a trouble-free installation.

The project is also aiming to achieve a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold rating upon completion, with the Arena’s design focussing on reducing operating costs and conserving energy, water and other resources during operation. A.G. Coombs Advisory is the appointed Commissioning Authority (CxA) for Melbourne Park Western Precinct development, which includes the Margaret Court project, and is helping to achieve these environmental targets, having also successfully undertaken the CxA role on the now completed Eastern Precinct.

The Arena opened prior to this month’s Australian Open tournament, with Melbourne Park having welcomed back Australia’s latest tennis sensation, Nick Kyrgios, to his home Grand Slam tournament.

Nat Gray, Lend Lease’s Senior Project Engineer on the Melbourne Park Western Precinct project, is impressed with A.G. Coombs’ ability to conquer the complexity and technical challenges presented by this project.

“We are pleased to have transformed the Margaret Court Arena with Major Projects Victoria”, he said. “Bringing our own construction expertise to this project, together with A.G. Coombs’ HVAC, mechanical and CxA expertise, we have helped to build a better, bigger arena to improve both patron comfort and accessibility in and around Melbourne Park, whilst also aiming for compliance with the targeted LEED Gold Rating criteria.”

For more information on the Melbourne Park Redevelopment, visit the Major Projects Victoria website.

For more information on A.G. Coombs Projects’ building services capabilities, please contact us.

Construction of the new operable roof and full air conditioning at Margaret Court Arena