Arena Sofia
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| Full name | Arena Armeets Sofia MSH |
|---|---|
| Former names | Arena Sofia |
| Location | 1 Asen Yordanov Blvd., Sofia, Bulgaria |
| Coordinates | 42°40′16″N 23°22′9″E / 42.67111°N 23.36917°E |
| Owner | National Sport Base PLC |
| Capacity | 17,906 (with stands) Boxing: 16,545 Tennis, Wrestling: 15,545 Basketball, Volleyball: 12,373 Ice hockey: 11,100 Concerts: 17,000 |
| Surface | Parquet |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 2 July 2009 |
| Opened | 30 July 2011 |
| Construction cost | BGN 90 million (around EUR 46 million) |
| Architect | Zheko Tilev |
| Main contractors | Glavbolgarstroy |
| Tenants | |
| Bulgaria men's national volleyball team Sofia Open (ATP 250) | |
| Website | |
| arenaarmeecsofia | |
Arena Armeets is an indoor arena located in Sofia, Bulgaria. It has a seating capacity of 12,373 to 14,000 spectators depending on its use. For concerts it can grow to 17,000. It was originally called Arena Sofia before the insurance company Armeets purchased the naming rights until 2017. There are 887 parking lots, 614 of them placed in a central exterior parking, 231 placed in near streets and 42 designated for disabled people.
It hosts a total of 30 sports, including basketball, volleyball, handball, futsal, boxing, tennis, wrestling, weightlifting, fencing and gymnastics competitions as well as concerts. The first major concert in the arena was held by Jean Michel Jarre, followed by artists Sade and Amorphis.
Major events and notable firsts
The arena has hosted the 2012 European Taekwon-do ITF championship in May, followed by the 2012 Aerobic Gymnastics World Championships in the first three days of June. The city was previously awarded the 2004 edition of the event.[1]
During three days in February 2012 the arena hosted the Cirque du Soleil show Saltimbanco for the first time in Bulgaria.[2] Between 9 and 11 November 2012 it also hosted the travelling ice show Disney on Ice, another debut for the country.[3]
The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2015 was held in the arena on 21 November 2015, the first time a Eurovision event was held in Bulgaria.[4]
Arena Armeec recorded its first sold-out game on 9 June 2012, when 12,501 fans (128 more than the official capacity) came to see the Olympic qualification volleyball match between France and Bulgaria.
List of major concerts
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- Jean Michel Jarre – 9 October 2011
- Sade – 29 October 2011
- Amorphis – 10 November 2011
- Tom Jones – 18 November 2011
- Lepa Brena – 3 December 2011
- Mark Knight – 25 December 2011
- Tarja Turunen – 27 January 2012
- Solar Easter: Marco Carola and Victor Calderone – 13 April 2012
- Ceca – 22 May 2012
- Julio Iglesias – 13 June 2012
- Lady Gaga – 14 August 2012
- Red Hot Chili Peppers – 1 September 2012[5]
- Jennifer Lopez – 18 November 2012[6]
- Lili Ivanova – 22 November 2012
- Goran Bregović – 29 November 2012[7]
- Giorgos Mazonakis – 12 December 2012
- Solar Christmas 2012: Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano, Fedde le Grand, Sophie Ellis-Bextor – 21 December 2012
- Armin van Buuren – 8 March 2013 – A State of Trance 600, with Dash Berlin, Ferry Corsten, Myon & Shane 54, Dennis Sheperd and Ruben de Ronde
- Helloween and Gamma Ray – 15 March 2013
- We Will Rock You (musical) – 15–19 May 2013
- Jamiroquai – 28 June 2013
- Jessie J – 29 June 2013
- Snoop Dogg – 8 July 2013
- Signal – 27 November 2013
- Ennio Morricone – 10 December 2013[8]
- Scorpions – 16 December 2013
- Armin van Buuren – Armin Only: Intense – 7 February 2014
- Iron Maiden – 16 June 2014
- Ceca - 7 November 2014
- Slavi Trifonov & Ku-Ku Band - 25 April 2015
- OneRepublic – 2 June 2015
- Skrillex – 5 June 2015
- Roxette – 17 June 2015
- Toto - 28 June 2015
- Judas Priest - 30 June 2015
- Lepa Brena – 22 October 2015
- Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2015 – 21 November 2015
- Violetta - 6 November 2015
- Whitesnake - 24 November 2015
- Enrique Iglesias – 14 December 2015
- Al Bano – 16 December 2015
- Ricchi e Poveri – 16 April 2016
- Enrique Iglesias – 14 May 2016
List of major sporting events
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- European qualification tournament for Wrestling at the 2012 Summer Olympics – April 2012
- European qualification for the 2012 Men's Olympic Volleyball Tournament – 8–13 May 2012
- 2012 Aerobic Gymnastics World Championships – 1–3 June 2012
- World qualification for the 2012 Men's Olympic Volleyball Tournament – 8–10 June 2012
- 2012 FIVB World League Final Round – 4–8 July 2012
- 2012 WTA Tournament of Champions – 30 October – 4 November 2012
- 2013 Summer Deaflympics – 26 July – 4 August 2013
- 2013 WTA Tournament of Champions – 29 October – 3 November 2013
- 2014 European Women's Artistic Gymnastics Championships – 12–18 May 2014
- 2014 European Men's Artistic Gymnastics Championships – 19–25 May 2014
- 2014 WTA Tournament of Champions – 28 October – 2 November 2014
- 2015 Men's European Volleyball Championship - 09 October - 18 October 2015
- 2016 Garanti Koza Sofia Open - 1-7 February 2016
References
- ^ "2012 Sofia AER World Championships : Homepage". Sofia2012.fig-gymnastics.com. Retrieved 2012-09-09.
- ^ [1] Archived 2012-01-09 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Дисни на лед - Събитие - Арена Армеец София". Arenaarmeecsofia.com. Retrieved 2012-09-09.
- ^ "Junior Eurovision 2015: 21 November in Sofia, Bulgaria". JuniorEurovision.tv. 30 March 2015. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
- ^ [2] Archived 2012-07-23 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Дженифър Лопес - Събитие - Арена Армеец София". Arenaarmeecsofia.com. Retrieved 2012-09-09.
- ^ "Горан Брегович - Събитие - Арена Армеец София". Arenaarmeecsofia.com. Retrieved 2012-09-09.
- ^ ENNIO MORRICONE – THE BEST MOVIE MUSIC COMPOSER OF THE 20TH CENTURY FOR THE FIRST TIME IN BULGARIA (ArenaArmeecSofia.com)