Before the AEC was built it was generally believed by the people of Adelaide that it would also be the new home of the Adelaide 36ers who played in the National Basketball League as they played their home games at Apollo and a move there when it opened seemed natural as ticket demand for the 36ers was more than twice what the old stadium could hold. This speculation was also fueled by the success of other teams in the NBL, namely the Brisbane Bullets, Perth Wildcats, and Sydney Kings who had all moved into their respective cities larger Entertainment Centres and were attracting record crowds. However, both Basketball SA and the 36ers wanted their own venue that would provide a home for basketball in SA, and thus the AU$16 million, 8,000 seat Clipsal Powerhouse (Renamed to Titanium Security Arena, and then to Adelaide Arena in 2019) was opened in 1992.