Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre

Suburb: Victoria | Tags: attraction leisure activities

Channel your inner champion at Melbourne’s biggest aquatic centre. Lap it up like an Olympian in the 50-metre indoor and outdoor pools or take it a little easier in the 25-metre indoor pool. Perfect your diving technique on one of 14 boards or take the kids to ride high in the wave pool and twist down the enormous water slide.

Facts

Address: Aughtie Drive, Albert Park, Victoria, 3206

Official Website: https://msac.com.au/
Cost: See Website

Open Hours:See Website

Wiki

Melbourne Sports Centres – MSAC is an international sporting venue located in Albert Park, Victoria, Australia. The centre was opened on 24 July 1997 at a construction cost of A$65 million. The cost was funded by the State Government of Victoria and the City of Port Phillip. The center has hosted international events including the 2006 Commonwealth Games and the 2007 World Aquatics Championships.

The centre has several swimming pools and international standard diving facilities. There is a large multi-purpose sports hall used for sports such as badminton, basketball, table tennis and volleyball, and also squash courts and a gym.

It is one of four sporting facilities in Melbourne – the others being the State Netball and Hockey Centre (SNHC), the MSAC Institute of Training (MIT) and Lakeside Stadium – to be named under the banner of Melbourne Sports Centres, and is operated by the State Sports Centres Trust.

The centre is accessible by tram routes 12 and 96 which both pass near Southern Cross railway station and the Melbourne City Centre.

Construction

Stage 1
The first part of MSAC’s construction was completed in 1997. This included the majority of the facilities currently at MSAC including the indoor pools and the sports hall.

Stage 2
In 2002, it was announced that MSAC would be expanded in time for the 2006 Commonwealth Games. A new hydrotherapy pool, a new 50 metre outdoor pool and improved transport links were some of the facilities added in the $51 million expansion. Work began on the Stage 2 project in September 2003. The expansion opened in early 2006. Since then, a movable floor was installed in the 50m outdoor pool which allows the water depth to be varied.

Stage 3
In 2016 MSAC invested many hundreds of dollars into their internal and customer-facing technology systems, which introduced the ability to book online and pay for certain court-based sports including: Table Tennis, Squash and Badminton courts.

Facilities

The centre boasts numerous facilities.

Aquatics

Indoor 50m pool
25m lap pool
Multi-purpose pool
Hydrotherapy pool
Outdoor 50m pool
Wave pool
Diving boards
Water slide dismantled as at 31 Dec 2019

Sport

10 indoor basketball courts
10 squash courts
12 badminton courts
18 table tennis tables
3 volleyball courts

National Basketball League club Melbourne United have been based at the centre since the start of the 2018/19. The team trains in the basketball precinct, which features an 1800-seat show court, and have their club offices and facilities located in the centre.

Events

MSAC regularly hosts many events including state and national championships. Among the major events MSAC has hosted are:

2005 Summer Deaflympics
2006 Commonwealth Games – squash, diving, swimming, table tennis
2007 FINA World Swimming Championships – diving
2007 and 2008 Australian Club Championships
NBL games for Victoria Giants

Charlene Wittstock, the future Princess of Monaco, won a gold medal for South Africa in the 2002 World Cup held at MSAC. She returned to the MSAC on a royal visit to Melbourne in March 2012.