TheBelgrade Arena (Serbian:Београдска арена /Beogradska arena) is a multi-purposeindoor arena located inBelgrade,Serbia. It is designed as a universal hall for sports, cultural events and other programs. The venue is used for several different sports events, such asbasketball,futsal,handball,judo,table tennis,tennis,volleyball, andwater polo competitions, as well as forconcerts. The arena's capacity stands at 18,386. Also there is a small hall with underground tuminel for warming[2] while the total floor area stands at 48,000 m2 (520,000 sq ft).[3]Belgrade Arena was a member of theEuropean Arenas Association (EAA).[4]
The Belgrade Arena is situated in New Belgrade. Arena's parking is limited in spaces, though nearby residential areas provide enough room for vehicles.
It is a 10-minute walk fromNovi Beograd railway station, which offers international train services fromAustria,Hungary,Slovenia andCroatia, domestic train services (fast and regional trains) to and fromNovi Sad,Subotica andŠid and urban rail servicesBG Voz.
It takes a 15-minute drive fromBelgrade Nikola Tesla Airport to the arena. Ride from downtown Belgrade would take the same amount of time, unless in rush-hour, when it could take up to 30 minutes to get to centralNovi Beograd, where the arena is located.
The construction of the arena has caused a substantial increase in prices for apartments in the surrounding area, which are mostly new. A new modern business district is scheduled to be constructed across the Belgrade Arena. Hotel IN was the first new hotel to be built near the arena however the venue is also within walking distance fromHyatt Regency Belgrade andCrowne Plaza Belgrade.
During its construction, the provisory name of the arena was "Hala Limes". Yet, when the construction of the arena was finished in 2004, it was given the official nameBeogradska Arena (Belgrade Arena). In February 2007, Serbian basketball coachBožidar Maljković started an initiative to name the Arena after another renowned Serbian basketball coach,Aleksandar Nikolić. Maljković presented his initiative to the city officials and the president of SerbiaBoris Tadić, but the name change has not been accepted.[5] Instead, in 2016, another Belgrade sports hall,Pionir Hall was renamedAleksandar Nikolić Hall.
In June 2012, the arena officials signed a five-year agreement withKomercijalna banka to change the name to "Kombank Arena", and the name change became official in September 2012.[6]
DuringUEFA Futsal Euro 2016, which has been held in February 2016, the Arena has been renamed from Kombank Arena to Belgrade Arena, for sponsorship reasons.[7][8]
In October 2017, the arena was once again renamed, this time to Štark Arena, following the signing of a five-year sponsorship deal withŠtark, a food manufacturing company.[9] On 3 April 2024, the original arena name was restored.[10]
In 1989, The City of Belgrade was chosen to host theBasketball World Championship of 1994.[11] However, there was a condition for the city to build an all-new basketball arena. In the competition for the design of a new arena with seat capacity of at least 20,000, the winner was the design submitted by Belgrade architect Vlada Slavica fromEnergoprojekt.[12] In 1991 a location for the project was chosen –Blok 25 inNew Belgrade.
The project was carried out amid significant difficulties. For starters, the construction of such a mega structure had to meet a very tight deadline, since it was only 3 years to the World Championships. A team of 126 companies was formed to be part of the arena committee, withEnergoprojekt Visokogradnja and GP Napred as main contractors.[12][13] Two architects were chosen to design the arena's roof. In 1992 construction started as the arena committee formed a partnership with American companyHOK, experienced in building sporting venues. However, tough times were ahead. As thedisintegration of Yugoslavia started, theUnited Nations imposed sanctions on theFederal Republic of Yugoslavia and HOK stopped all co-operation with the arena committee. Even with this setback, work on the Belgrade Arena continued.
In 1993, Belgrade suffered one of its worst economic years in modern history. The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia experienced record inflation rates, and as a result of the sanctions and the conflicts in Yugoslavia, Belgrade lost the right to host the 1994 Basketball World Championships.[14] Following the formal announcement byFIBA, the arena's construction still continued for some time, though at a considerably slower pace due to the lack of material. However, sometime in 1995 the construction completely stopped.
Work on the arena re-commenced in 1998 as the city was chosen to host the1999 World Table Tennis Championships to be held in the Belgrade Arena. By this time the roof was already taking shape towards completion, part of the façade was done and the interior was half complete. Once again, Yugoslavia lost the privilege to host the competition as the city wasbombed by NATO forces the year the competition was supposed to be held. The first public event held in the Arena (which was still under construction at the time) was the finalSlobodan Milošević (president of Yugoslavia at the time)2000 presidential election campaign rally, which was held on 20 September 2000.[15] That was the last time Milošević delivered a public speech.
After a change of government in Yugoslavia in 2000 and the lifting of all sanctions imposed on the country, the Arena, under new management, was completed in 2004 in time for theFIBA Diamond Ball tournament and Belgrade finally got the right to hostThe 2005 European Basketball Championship.[16] Temporary licenses for public use expired in early 2006, following a series of sport events and concerts in 2005. Works on an automated fire prevention system and installation of elevators to meet European standards were completed by November 2006, while no events were held in the Arena in the meantime. The Belgrade Arena received its permanent public use license on 4 November 2006 and re-opened its doors as a result.[17]
.jpg)
The first event held in the Belgrade Arena was aSocialist Party of Serbia andYugoslav Left final election campaign rally, held on 20 September 2000 before the2000 Yugoslavian general election. The construction of the Arena wasn't finished at that time. The official opening came nearly four years later, on 31 July 2004, when theFIBA Diamond Ball basketball tournament was held. Since the Arena had only a temporary license, just a few events were held during the next two and a half years. The first event held after getting a permanent license was the50 Cent concert, on 6. November 2006.
One of the biggest events to take place in the Arena was theEurovision Song Contest 2008. In the contest's final night an audience of over 20,000 was present. Other big events held in the Arena include numerous sporting events, notably the European championships inbasketball (EuroBasket 2005),volleyball (2005 Men's European Volleyball Championship),table tennis (2007 European Table Tennis Championships), andjudo (2007 European Judo Championships). The Belgrade Arena was also one of the 69 venues to take part in the2009 Summer Universiade Games, hosting the opening and closing ceremonies, as well as thebasketball competition.
Arena was the host venue for the concerts of the most significant artists of Serbia and former Yugoslavia, as well as major international stars, including50 Cent,Anastacia,Backstreet Boys,Beyoncé,Andrea Bocelli,Deep Purple,Montserrat Caballé,Nick Cave,The Chemical Brothers,Eric Clapton andSteve Winwood,Joe Cocker,Leonard Cohen,Phil Collins,The Cult,Bob Dylan,Fatboy Slim,Peter Gabriel,Guano Apes,Guns N' Roses,Hurts,Il Divo,Iron Maiden,Jean-Michel Jarre,Elton John,Tom Jones,Judas Priest,Alicia Keys,Mark Knopfler,Lenny Kravitz,Massive Attack,Nicole Scherzinger andThe Pussycat Dolls,Queen + Paul Rodgers,Eros Ramazzotti,Jennifer Lopez,Rammstein,Chris Rea,RBD,Rihanna,Sade,Simple Minds,Shakira,Slash,Slayer,Slipknot,Sting,Whitesnake,Roger Waters,Zaz,ZZ Top,OneRepublic and many others. The Arena also hosted the secondGreen Fest music festival with performances byFranz Ferdinand,Cypress Hill andThe Raveonettes, theIQ festival headlined byMarilyn Manson, and many other concerts, political rallies, product exhibitions and numerous other events.
Also, in several international competitions, the record attendance has been set at the Arena. On 2 February 2009, the2009 Fed Cup World Group II,Serbia vs.Japantennis match set a record for anITF event attendance with a crowd of 15,118 spectators.[18] On 5 March 2009, the firstPartizan Belgradebasketball game at Belgrade Arena was held, a2008–09 Euroleague Top 16 match against Greek powerhousePanathinaikos. A crowd of 22,567, a record for the Euroleague, saw Partizan win 63–56.[19] On 26 July 2009, theFIVB World League final betweenSerbia andBrazil was held in Belgrade Arena, with an attendance of 22,680, which is a record of World League.[20] TheABA League all-time record of 22,198 spectators was set on 22 June 2023 during the Game 5 of the2023 ABA Finals.[21]
On 26 March 2014,Crvena Zvezda playedEurocup quarterfinal game against Ukrainian championsBudivelnyk Kyiv. Zvezda won in the overtime 79–70 and this match gathered 24,232 spectators, which is a record for the Eurocup and at the time was also for any basketball game held indoors in Europe. This is also a record attendance of Belgrade Arena.[2]
The attendance of 18,473 at the final match of the2016 Men's European Water Polo Championship, betweenSerbia andMontenegro was the highest one in water polo history.[22][23]
The2018 EuroLeague Final Four was held at Štark Arena in May 2018.[24]
.jpg)
| Events and tenants | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | EuroBasket Final Venue 2005 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Eurovision Song Contest Venue 2008 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Davis Cup Final Venue 2010 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | European Men's Handball Championship Final Venue 2012 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | European Women's Handball Championship Final Venue 2012 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | IHF World Women's Handball Championship Final Venue 2013 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Davis Cup Final Venue 2013 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | European Water Polo Championship Venue 2016 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | UEFA Futsal Championship Final Venue 2016 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | European Athletics Indoor Championships Venue 2017 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | EuroLeague Final Four Venue 2018 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | EuroBasket Women Final Venue 2019 | Succeeded by Incumbent |
| Preceded by | World Athletics Indoor Championships Venue 2022 | Succeeded by |
| Business |
|
|---|---|
| Entertainment venues | |
| Healthcare institutions | |
| Historical landmarks |
|
| Hotels | |
| Palaces and castles | |
| Other | |
| Under construction | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Home arenas |
|
| Personnel |
|
| Retired numbers | |
| Saporta Cup winners | |
| ABA Championships | |
| ABA Supercup | |
| Affiliates | |
| Rivalry | |
| Culture and lore | |
| Other sports | |
