Qantas Credit Union Arena

Watching Dr Who Spectacular in this space is pretty good. Seating on the flat gives those opportunity to get up close and personal to a darlek. Sitting up with the gods has the screen at eye level and a good overview of the arena with laser show. It is a bit chilly so a Dr Who scarf might be in order.

Great venue for concerts. There’s a Macca’s next door should you ever want that preconcert snack.
If you want to catch a glimpse of your big star leaving the venue. The best vantage point is around the back of the entertainment centre near the car park. You can’t miss it. Just walk around towards the car park and follow the crowd. It’s near the pedestrian walk path thru from darling harbour to UTS.

I’m not sure why there are seats so far around either side so that people sitting there can only see walls or screens instead of the actual show.
I would be rather peeved if I had paid for good seats and got those.
Anyway, P! nk was awesome. She puts on such an amazing show. I was totally wowed and was bopping and singing in my seat along with her. Fantastic. The only issue I had was that there was no dancing or at least, no room to at least get up and have a boogie. I will forever be getting dance floor tickets from now on. I was so jealous of the people on the floor dancing away!
The venue. Well. It’s the entertainment centre isn’t it?

Great for concerts, I have seen 3 events here
A game of Australian Basketball
A Gorillaz Concert
A Radiohead Concert
The sound is great for music even when I was watching from the nosebleed section.

Concert day countdowns; you know the feeling …
I had been counting down for AGES to see Mumford and Sons, one of my favorite bands, play Sydney’s Entertainment Centre. For the last six months or so I’d dreamt that I would magically levitate out of my seat, David Blane style, and soar through the fog-​filled air, landing into the arms of Mr. Mumford who would begin playing «White Blank Page,» which I would do them the honor of soloing to. This would all be in slow motion, mind you… Oh no, I’m back there again …
Anywho, the evening I’d been dreaming of kicked off with drinks by the harbor and Chinatown Thai. I was boozie and starry eyed when we entered the Center, which was my first time doing so! Location wise, the Center has it made. Walking distance from the harbor and transit lines leaves endless options for making event nights into awesome evenings, and takes the worries away of how you’ll eventually make it home!
We had seats … not general admission, boggie-​down all over this here dance floor, but seats. I knew this going in, but I didn’t think the difference between the seat crowd and floor crowd would be as dramatic as it was. When we walked in, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros were kicking off their set! For such a groovy band, no one, and I mean, NO ONE in the seats section was up and dancing. I caught sight of a few minor head sways but that was it! … I was jealous. and enraged. and HAD to get onto that dance floor!
The set-​up of the center is a semi-​circle, which means that everyone in either seats or on the floor gets rocking views of the stage. But I couldn’t help feeling like I was in an Olympic Stadium in Athens; trapped into the peasant section, hopelessly watching royalty have their hand at the games I never would… After Edward finished up his set, my partner and I meandered down to the bar, where we found that drinks were surprisingly cheap for a big-​time music venue– $ 6 for beer or wine.
And then the planning happened … Or lack thereof, I mean. It was simple. Just walk in. Just pretend like you were wearing the same bright orange wristbands that VIP kids on the floor were, and blow past security before they even knew what hit them!
I got in.
I just walked in.
Past security, with bare arms and no wristband, and just as I thought we were in the clear I heard from behind me, «Excuse me Sir; where’s your wristband?»
Ouch.
Is it horrible that I kept walking, and didn’t stop for a second to see if my 6 foot 4 inch, impossible to sneak through any type of anything unnoticed partner had any shot of getting in?
Maybe so. But I was blinded by stage lights and nothing was stopping me from being on that floor.
I ended up asking around to «borrow» someone’s wristband, which I passed up to my partner inside of my wallet. He then put it on, passed through a different set of security, and caught me mid-​google over Mumford and Sons. Bonnie and Clyde, or something like it.
The show was spectacular! The acoustics were incredible, the complimentary light effects were lovely, and the floor wasn’t packed at all; there was plenty of dancing space! They played for a good two hours or so, and ended on a high note; a Fleetwood Mac cover note to be exact… And even though my dreams of solo serenading didn’t quite come true, it was a memorable night, thanks to the poor security of the Center!
Summary: If you go to concerts not just for music, but dancing too, make it a point to get general admission tickets; the seats leave little to no room for dancing.

Just a great place. Have been to a few different shows here. They all have been different, yet the Sydney Entertainment Centre made way for memorable experiences, although for the crowds — you’ve just got to get used to that.
Hmm…which shows have I been to here in the past — interesting all round:
1. Janet Jackson and Human Nature concert — while in high school. Have outgrown both the friend I went with and these musicians.
2. Schools Spectacular — earlier high school days. Went with family. Shame the school I went to wasn’t involved in it.
3. Sydney Olympics — closed off security — ha ha just kidding! I remember Maccas crew wore Olympic ID chains around their necks at the time too. Indoor Volleyball rocks!
4. Anthony Robbins Unleash The Power Within Seminar — didn’t really get any breakthroughs from this giant. Yet walking through hot coals was amazing — a great metaphor that has served me well in life. Still a great investment. My real estate mentoring at the time paid for it anyway.
5. Hillsong Easter Church services — I do believe in God, yet I only go at Easter and Christmas. Turned out I happened to be near a mobile place of worship near the city’s only factory outlets
Its so diverse what you can see at the Sydney Entertainment Centre.

A pretty decent venue. Been here for two Sydney Kings game, a Roxette concert and most recently saw the Flight of the Conchords, which was awesome.
The venue has great acoustics and we could hear every funny joke and random story the band played.
Beers and wine are about 10 – 12 bucks, pretty standard for a venue. Overall a good venue to watch a game or show.

Last time I hit the EntCent I was 21, saw Blink 182 during the peak of their pop-​punk powers, and crowd-​surfed for the first time during which someone stole one of my beloved Airwalks and I had to mosh with one shoe for the rest of the concert. Good times.
Age has not diminished the old gel. Like a giant, fortified (and face-​lifted) bulwark she lords over the lower reaches of Chinatown like a giant Shelob, unmatched for sheer size and spectacle by any venue this side of Homebush, and really, that’s, like, 45 minutes away. On a good day.
Last night I experienced the EntCent in crisis. Packed to the gunnels inside. Throngs thronging outside. Way too many people than there were seats. She went into lockdown. Disgorged legions of staff with those little security earpieces like army ants from somewhere within her catacombed bowels to every entrance to manage the insistent crowd trying to push their way inside. I got in. Just. Skin of the teeth stuff. Was like bagging the last seat on the last chopper out of Saigon.
Inside is wild. Splendid, uninterrupted views from every floor, seat, and far-​flung, lofted corner. Acoustics as crisp and clear as an alpine lake. And the best bit: it pumps in there. You feel like you’re a part of something much bigger than yourself. Like an Occupy Protest. Okay maybe not like that, but still. It’s pretty rad, is my point.

This Sydney cultural icon has been entertaining the masses since 1983. Once home to the Australian Indoor Tennis Championships… back in the days of Lendel and Graf, but these days sticks solely to concerts. In the colossal shadow of Acer Arena, and the Hunter’s Day of the Green, the Entertainment Centre has emerged as one of Sydney’s more intimate settings for live acts. I’ve seen a long list here, from Dire Straits to Elton John, Prince, Diana Ross andTom Jones, to name but a few megastars. The beauty of this place, is its location — right bang smack next to China Town, so either side of the show, you can indulge in an Oriental Feast and add an even bigger dose of culture to your night. Get here pre show so you can soak up the atmosphere with a bubbly or three. And make some new friends. After all, you at least share the same taste in music as every other single member of the audience. Don’t forget to invest in some memorabilia pre exit, so you can keepsake your entertainment centre experience for life.

When it comes to the motto Bigger is Better — the Sydney Entertainment Centre definitely has size working in it’s favour.
Positioned at the lower end of China Town — the Entertainment Centre plays home to big international acts like Beyonce, Pink and John Mayer, conference talks with Richard Branson or an enlightened lecture from the likes of Dalai Lama… so incase you haven’t realised it yet — this is a pretty good place to see a gig…
Finding your seat can be confusing as there are many «gates» and lots of levels to navigate through — so make sure you carefully check out your tickets before entering the building…
Foods expensive so avoid eating inside… especially when you have some fun cheap eats right next door in China Town…
There are always good gigs… so make sure you check out their website regularly to see whose in town…

At just over 13,000 capacity (with standing), Sydney Entertainment Centre is Sydney’s 2^nd largest arena venue (after the Allphones Arena in Olympic Park) and plays host to some pretty big gigs. My first and only trip to date was to see Iron Maiden in March and I manage to do an all round tour of the place as I had a backstage pass, which is always nice! There’s not much going on within the confines of the arena, i.e. there’s a few refreshment stands, but not a great deal. Once you’re inside the main area, you find it’s actually quite intimate despite it’s decent sized capacity. For the gig itself, I was down on the floor, which was just plain sweaty, but hardly surprising considering the band in questions.
When it’s not playing host to heavy metal juggernauts from the British Isles, it hosts plenty of other gigs and often the standing area is converted into seating for some of the more relaxed musical occasions. From October to March, the Entertainment Centre is home to the Sydney Kings NBL team, although you’d be forgiven for not realising this, crowds don’t exactly queue round the corner for their games!
One of the best aspects of this arena, is its locality to Sydney CBD. It’s a 5 minute walk from Central Station and is easily accessible from all directions, and if you’re the driving sort, then there’s a multi-​story car-​park right next door!