Belgrade Arena

The Belgrade Arena (

Location and influence

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 from

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 from Hyatt Regency Belgrade and Crowne Plaza Belgrade.

Name

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 name Beogradska Arena (Belgrade Arena). In February 2007, Serbian basketball coach Božidar 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 Serbia Boris Tadić, but the name change hasn't been accepted.^[5] Instead, in 2016, another Belgrade sports hall, Pionir Hall was renamed Aleksandar Nikolić Hall.

In June 2012, the arena officials signed a five-year agreement with

During UEFA 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 with Štark, a food manufacturing company.^[9] On 3 April 2024, the original arena name was restored.^[10]

History

Design and construction

In 1989, The City of Belgrade was chosen to host the

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 by FIBA, 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 the

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 the FIBA Diamond Ball tournament and Belgrade finally got the right to host The 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]

Events

The first event held in the Belgrade Arena was a Socialist Party of Serbia and Yugoslav Left final election campaign rally, held on 20 September 2000 before the 2000 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 the FIBA 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 the 50 Cent concert, on 6. November 2006.

One of the biggest events to take place in the Arena was the

Arena was the host venue for the concerts of the most significant artists of Serbia and former Yugoslavia, as well as major international stars, including 50 Cent, Anastacia, Backstreet Boys, Beyoncé, Andrea Bocelli, Deep Purple, Montserrat Caballé, Nick Cave, The Chemical Brothers, Eric Clapton and Steve 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 and The 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 second Green Fest music festival with performances by Franz Ferdinand, Cypress Hill and The Raveonettes, the IQ festival headlined by Marilyn 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, the

On 26 March 2014, Crvena Zvezda played Eurocup quarterfinal game against Ukrainian champions Budivelnyk Kiev. 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 the 2016 Men's European Water Polo Championship, between Serbia and Montenegro was the highest one in water polo history.^[22][23]

The 2018 EuroLeague Final Four was held at Štark Arena in May 2018.^[24]

Gallery

• 
  West entrance, 2006
• 
  North entrance, 2007
• 
  South entrance, 2011
• 
  Southeast entrance, 2006
• 
  2012 European Men's Handball Championship
• 
  Men's and Women's European Water Polo Championship

See also

• List of stadiums in Serbia
• List of indoor arenas in Serbia
• List of indoor arenas in Europe
• List of tennis stadiums by capacity

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Belgrade Arena.

• Official website (in Serbian)
• Official website (in English)