SPC Vojvodina
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| Location | Sutjeska 2, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 45°14′51″N 19°50′44″E / 45.24750°N 19.84556°E |
| Owner | JP SPC Vojvodina |
| Capacity | 11,500 |
| Construction | |
| Opened | April 14, 1981 |
| Architect | Žika Janković Branko Bulić Duško Bogunović |
| Tenants | |
| KK Vojvodina OK Vojvodina KK Novi Sad | |
Spens or SPENS, officially Sports and Business Center "Vojvodina" (Serbian: Спортски и пословни центар "Војводина", Sportski i poslovni centar "Vojvodina"[1]) is a multi-purpose venue located in Novi Sad, Serbia. It operates under publicly owned company JP "Sportski i poslovni centar Vojvodina", which in addition to Spens also has Sajmište Sports Center under its umbrella. The capacity of the whole arena is 11,500.
Features
Sprawled over 85,000 m2, Spens consists of main hall (which can house around 8,000 people), 'small' hall (which can house around 1,100), ice-hockey rink (which can house between 2,000 and 3,000), bowling alley, shooting range, 3 training halls, swimming pool, 11 tennis courts, media center, 2 press centers, amphitheater, reception salon, conference hall, double-level garage, and 215 retail and business spaces that house banks, furniture stores, tourist agencies, jewelers, bookstores, pool halls, fitness clubs, boutiques, etc.
Its construction was completed in less than 2 years, and on April 14, 1981 Spens opened its door for the first time, its inaugural event being the 9th Table Tennis European Championships in Novi Sad (Serbian: Stonotenisko prvenstvo Evrope Novi Sad - SPENS, hence the unofficial name of the venue).[2]
Sports
Spens' most famous residents are basketball's KK Vojvodina (participating in Sinalco Superleague) and volleyball's OK Vojvodina.
In 1987, Spens hosted basketball's European Cup Winners' Cup Final. Cibona Zagreb defeated Scavolini Pesaro 89-74.[2][3]
The venue received its biggest media exposure when it hosted round-robin action of Eurobasket 2005 in group D which consisted of Spain, Latvia, Israel and host country Serbia and Montenegro.[2] For this occasion Spens received a major facelift that included improvements to building's technological capabilities, overhaul of its media center and addition of two video boards - one on each end of the main hall.
Since volleyball is very popular in Novi Sad, Serbia men's national volleyball team often plays its FIVB World League home matches in Spens, as well as its friendly warm-up games.
Other
In addition to sporting events, Spens is often utilized as venue of choice for numerous concerts, film premieres, conventions, etc. First ever concert in Spens was by Sedmorica mladih and it drew 5,000 people.
References
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