Officials at the Australian Open has insisted that their courts are safe after it was revealed that the Hisense Arena is covered by a highly combustible material.
A report conducted by ABC News Australia has found that the exterior of the premier court at the Melbourne major is covered by 20% of ‘suspect materials.’ A highly combustible cladding that has been subject to investigation by many countries in recent months. Last year over 70 people died in the Grenfell Tower fire in London. Investigators concluded that the 24-story building came alight so quickly because of the cladding. Cladding is the application of one material over another to provide a layer.
It is understood that the Australian Open is planning to remove the material from the Hisense Arena next year. It has been deemed safe by both the local government and relevant authorities. The chief executive of the Olympic Park Trust, Brian Morris, has insisted that the proper precautions have been made to ensure the 10,000 capacity arena is safe.
“We’ve done things like removing any potential ignition points, we’ve put on extra staff to review areas that could possibly be at risk, we’ve probably increased our response capability and the MFB [Metropolitan Fire Brigade] will be on board during the Australian Open,” Morris told ABC.
The Victorian Cladding Taskforce reported in December that up to 1400 buildings in the Australian region could contain the hazardous material, including eight hospitals. Many have blamed the outcome on poor regulation of materials and the desire to save money during construction.
The AUS$65 M Hisense Arena was built in 2000. Apart from tennis, the venue has also been used to stage a variety of other sports. Including National Basketball games, the World Track Cycling Championships and even held an exhibition Ice Hockey series.
There is no information about if any of the controversial cladding has been used elsewhere at Melbourne Park. The Australian Open will get underway on January 15th.
