It confused people with its odd shape and its construction was marred by budget blowouts and threats of legal action, but Perth Arena is now reaping the accolades.
Music industry publication Pollstar is the latest to heap praise on the arena, ranking it the top venue in the Asia-Pacific region and 25th in the world.
The result was a slight drop on last year's ranking of 22, which placed Perth Arena ahead of the likes of London's Wembley Arena and Madison Square Garden in New York.
So far this year, more than 236,000 people have walked through its doors to see the likes of Motley Crue, Rod Stewart, Kylie Minogue, The Script, the Dalai Lama and the Perth Ice Hockey Classic.
"Since the arena opened two and a half years ago, more than 2.3 million people have been to one of the 245 concerts or sporting events," sport and recreation minister Mia Davies said.
"For the venue to be achieving such outstanding results on the world stage within its first few years of operation is a credit to the people of WA."
In recent years, Perth Arena has been recognised by music magazine Billboard and has won awards for interior and public architecture.
From next year, work will begin to develop the hotel and entertainment district adjacent to the CBD site.