Category:1983

WIN Entertainment Centre (formally Wollongong Entertainment Centre and commonly WEC) is a multi-purpose indoor arena, located in downtown Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia.

The WEC opened on 5 September 1998 with a concert by Bob Dylan and Patti Smith; 4,935 people attended the event. Dylan performed at the venue again in 2011 performing to a crowd of 3,214 people.

The arena is 3 minutes walk from the city centre and has hosted a variety of events including Federation Cup tennis, world championship boxing and international musical acts.

Every year the WIN Entertainment Centre holds the Wakakirri Story Dance Wollongong heat and also a variety of concerts and expos.

The building was designed by the NSW Government Architect.

Sporting events
The venue is the home of the Illawarra Hawks who play in the Australasian-based National Basketball League (NBL). During Hawks games it is referred to as "The Sandpit" in reference to being next to the beach. It is also a play on name of the Hawks former home, the Beaton Park Stadium, which was commonly known as "The Snakepit". The Hawks, known from 1979-1998 as the Illawarra Hawks, are the only original club left in the NBL.

The record attendance for an event at the WIN Centre is 5,839, set on 18 February 2005, when the Hawks played their regular season finale against the Sydney Kings.

Naming rights
The naming rights to both facilities are owned by WIN Corporation, a Wollongong-based media company which owns the television network, WIN.

Television & Movies

 * The World of the Dark Crystal on PBS, January 9
 * Fraggle Rock Season 1 begins on HBO, January 10
 * Fraggle Rock Season 1 begins on CBC
 * Rocky Mountain Holiday on ABC, May 12
 * Don't Eat the Pictures on PBS, November 16
 * Sesame Street Season 15, November 21
 * Sesame Street Episode 1839 (Mr. Hooper's death) on PBS, November 24
 * Big Bird in China on NBC

International Television

 * The French co-production of Fraggle Rock begins airing in France on FR3, November
 * Die Fraggles (Fraggle Rock) begins airing in Germany on ZDF, November 12
 * Barrio Sésamo begins its second run in Spain
 * Sesame! begins airing in the Philippines
 * Germany's Sesamstrasse celebrates 10th Anniversary

Storybooks

 * Big Bird and Little Bird's Big & Little Book (reissue version with new illustrations by A. Delaney)
 * Bert and the Missing Mop Mix-up
 * The Case of the Missing Mother
 * The City Worm and the Country Worm
 * Don't Cry, Big Bird
 * Early Bird on Sesame Street
 * Ernie's Little Lie
 * Everyone Makes Mistakes
 * Grover Goes to School
 * I Can Dress Myself
 * The Muppets on the Road
 * People in My Family
 * Pigs in Space
 * Puppy Love
 * The Radish Day Jubilee
 * Red and the Pumpkins
 * The Sesame Street Question and Answer Book About Animals
 * The Sesame Street Treasury series begins
 * The Sesame Street Word Book
 * The Twiddlebugs' Dream House
 * You Are the Star of a Muppet Adventure

Non-fiction Books

 * The Making of the Dark Crystal

Albums

 * The Best of Bert
 * The Best of Big Bird
 * The Best of Cookie Monster
 * The Best of the Count
 * The Best of Ernie
 * The Best of Grover
 * The Best of Oscar the Grouch
 * Born to Add
 * Fraggle Rock
 * The Gang's All Here!
 * Rocky Mountain Holiday
 * Surprise!

Videos

 * The Dark Crystal (Thorn/EMI Video UK release)
 * De Freggels 1 (from the Dutch coproduction of Fraggle Rock)
 * De Freggels 2
 * De Freggels 3
 * De Freggels 4
 * De Freggels 5
 * De Freggels 6
 * Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas (Muppet Home Video)
 * Fraggle Songs
 * The Frog Prince (Muppet Home Video)
 * The Great Muppet Caper (20th Century Fox Video)
 * Hey Cinderella! (Muppet Home Video)
 * The Muppet Musicians of Bremen (Muppet Home Video)

Merchandise

 * Big Bird's sprinkler
 * Big Bird Xylophone
 * Muppet Magazine begins, January
 * American Telecommunications Kermit phone
 * Alpha Beam with Ernie
 * Big Bird's Egg Catch
 * Cookie Monster Munch
 * Doozer wind-up toys
 * Fraggle Rock dolls (Tomy)
 * The Fraggle Trap Game
 * Happy House Books coloring books
 * Oscar's Trash Race
 * Pigs in Space video game
 * Tomy Muppet wind-up toys
 * Muppet stationery set (Empire Pencil Corp)

Stage Shows

 * Sesame Street Live show Around the World debuts

Muppet Character Debuts

 * Fraggle Rock: Gobo Fraggle, Mokey Fraggle, Red Fraggle, Wembley Fraggle, Boober Fraggle, Uncle Traveling Matt, Sprocket, Marjory the Trash Heap, Philo and Gunge, Pa Gorg, Ma Gorg, Junior Gorg
 * Sesamstrasse: Finchen

People

 * Olamide Faison born