Provision for international sport and traditional indoor arena events has been integrated into the design requirements.

The Sports and Entertainment complex is located adjacent to the Addington Raceway and Christchurch Stadium and is surrounded by 3,000 car parking spaces.

Some Christchurch citizens colloquially refer to the arena as the horseshoe, due to its unusual architectural exterior design.

It occasionally hosts international basketball and netball fixtures featuring the Tall Blacks and Silver Ferns respectively.

These include various celebrity tennis matches, ice shows, disabled games, karate championships and gymnastics competitions.

The combined facilities regularly host a variety of different events The venue is also used for big gala dinners, lunches, balls, and cocktail parties.