Menora Mivtachim Arena ( he, היכל מנורה מבטחים; also known as the Yad Eliyahu Arena, ; and formerly known as the Nokia Arena, ) is a large multi-purpose sports

indoor arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectator ...

that is located in southeast

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. The arena is primarily used to host

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball cov ...

matches,

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

games, and concerts. It is one of the major sporting facilities in the Greater Tel Aviv Area. The arena is owned by the municipality of Tel Aviv, and is managed by Sports Palaces Ltd., a company also fully owned by the municipality (which also manages

Bloomfield Stadium Bloomfield Stadium ( he, אצטדיון בלומפילד) is a football stadium in Tel Aviv, Israel, with a capacity of 29,400. It is the home stadium of Maccabi Tel Aviv, Hapoel Tel Aviv, and Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv. The stadium also serves the Is ...

and

Drive in Arena The Drive in Arena ( he, היכל הדרייב אין), officially named Shlomo Group Arena ( he, היכל קבוצת שלמה) due to commercial sponsorship, is a multi-purpose hall in the northern part of Tel Aviv. Built on the grounds of wh ...

). On 1 January 2015, the arena changed its name to Menora Mivtachim Arena.

History

The arena was opened on 17 September 1963, with a game between the national basketball teams of

and

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label= Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavij ...

, in which the latter won, by a score of 69–64. In its early years, the arena held a capacity of 5,000 spectators, with just concrete stands, without any seats, and without a roof. In 1972, a second floor of tiers was built, increasing the capacity to 10,000 spectators. The concrete stands were covered by seats, and the arena was covered with a roof. Further renovations through the years 2005–2007 modernized the arena further, added commercial facilities, and increased its capacity to 10,383 with permanent seating, 10,823 for basketball games, and 5,941 for concerts.

Events

Sport

The arena is home to the Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball club, a member of the Maccabi Tel Aviv

sports club A sports club or sporting club, sometimes an athletics club or sports society or sports association, is a group of people formed for the purpose of playing sports. Sports clubs range from organisations whose members play together, unpaid, and ...

. It has hosted the Israeli Super League final four, the

Israeli State Cup The Israel State Cup ( he, גביע המדינה, ''Gvia HaMedina''), is a knockout cup competition in Israeli football, run by the Israel Football Association (IFA). The State Cup was first held in 1928 as the People's Cup. Because it involve ...

final four, and most of the senior Israeli national basketball team's home games. It hosted the FIBA EuroStars all-star game in 1997, the FIBA European Champions Cup (now called EuroLeague) Finals game of the 1971–72 season, and the EuroLeague Final Four in

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nels ...

and

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight ...

. The arena was also used to host one of the group stages of

EuroBasket 2017 EuroBasket 2017 was the 40th edition of the EuroBasket championship that was organized by FIBA Europe and held between 31 August and 17 September 2017. Beginning from 2017, the continental championships take place every four years with a similar ...

, and the 2020–21 FIBA Europe Cup Final Four. In other sports, it has also hosted a

1989 Davis Cup The 1989 Davis Cup (also known as the 1989 Davis Cup by NEC for sponsorship purposes) was the 78th edition of the Davis Cup, the most important tournament between national teams in men's tennis. This year's tournament saw the expansion of the pre ...

World Group match, between Israel and France, and the 2009 Davis Cup quarterfinals between Israel and Russia, in July 2009. It will host preliminary matches for the 2023 FIBA Women's EuroBasket.

Entertainment

The arena has hosted various musical acts, such as: Teen Angels, Lali, Scorpions, Paul Anka, Take That,

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British rock and pop singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the best-selling ...

, Neil Sedaka, Cyndi Lauper, LMFAO,

Westlife Westlife is an Irish pop vocal group formed in Dublin, Ireland in 1998. The group currently consists of members Shane Filan, Mark Feehily, Kian Egan, and Nicky Byrne. Brian McFadden was a member, until he left in 2004. The group temporar ...

Five 5 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 5, five or number 5 may also refer to: * AD 5, the fifth year of the AD era * 5 BC, the fifth year before the AD era Literature * ''5'' (visual novel), a 2008 visual novel by Ram * ''5'' (comics), an awa ...

, Philipp Kirkorov, Juan Luis Guerra, Natalia Oreiro,

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically trained pianist, Keys started composing songs when she was 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Col ...

, Charles Aznavour,

Sean Paul Sean Paul Ryan Francis Henriques OD (born 9 January 1973) is a Jamaican rapper and singer who is regarded as one of dancehall's most prolific artists. Paul's singles " Get Busy" and "Temperature" topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in the ...

, and Julio and

Enrique Iglesias Enrique Miguel Iglesias Preysler (; (born 8 May 1975) is a Spanish singer and songwriter. He started his recording career in the mid-1990s on the Mexican indie label Fonovisa and became the bestselling Spanish-language act of the decade. By th ...

. The ''

Mamma Mia! Mama(s) or Mamma or Momma may refer to: Roles *Mother, a female parent *Mama-san, in Japan and East Asia, a woman in a position of authority *Mamas, a name for female associates of the Hells Angels Places * Mama, Russia, an urban-type settlemen ...

'' international tour played 24 shows at the venue as well. The arena also hosted shows of the international tour '' Alegría'', of

Cirque du Soleil Cirque du Soleil (, ; "Circus of the Sun" or "Sun Circus") is a Canadian entertainment company and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world. Located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 16 ...

. On 19 and 20 December 2015 the arena hosted comedian

Jerry Seinfeld Jerome Allen Seinfeld ( ; born April 29, 1954) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and producer. He is best known for playing a semi-fictionalized version of himself in the sitcom '' Seinfeld'', which he created and wrote with La ...

, in his first live performance in Israel. All four shows of the comedian were sold out.

Gallery

File:Yad Eliyahu Stadium 1964.jpg File:Yad Eliyhu Arena Yad Eliyhu Arena - panoramio.jpg File:Nokia Arena - Israel vs Montenegro - August 2012.JPG File:NokiaArena.jpg File:Yad-eliyaho-stadium001.jpg File:Nokia Arena from above.JPG File:Nokia Arena Panorama Davis cup Israel Russia 2009 2.jpg

References

External links

Menora Mivtachim Arena
the official website {{FIBA EuroBasket 2017 Maccabi Tel Aviv B.C. Basketball venues in Israel Indoor arenas in Israel Sports venues completed in 1963 Sports venues in Tel Aviv Tennis venues in Israel