Yad Eliyahu Arena, , known as the Menora Mivtachim Arena () and formerly as the Nokia Arena () for commercial reasons, is a large multi-purpose sports

indoor arena An arena is a large enclosed venue, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, Music, musical performances or Sport, sporting events. It comprises a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for specta ...

that is located in southeast

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. The arena is primarily used to host

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

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 (appro ...

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 () is a football stadium in Tel Aviv, Israel, with a capacity of 29,400. It is the home stadium of Hapoel Tel Aviv and Maccabi Tel Aviv. The stadium also serves the Israel national football team for some select home matches ...

and Drive in Arena). 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 , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

, 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 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 Maccabi Tel Aviv () is one of the largest sports clubs in Israel, and a part of the Maccabi association. Many sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv are in association with Maccabi and compete in a variety of sports, such as football, basketball, j ...

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 final four, and most of the senior

Israeli national basketball team The Israel men's national basketball team () represents Israel in international basketball tournaments. They are administered by the Israeli Basketball Association. Israel is currently ranked 39th in the FIBA World Ranking. Israel has qualifi ...

's home games. It hosted the

FIBA EuroStars FIBA EuroStars was an annual All-Star Game showcase of the sport of European professional club basketball. It was organized by FIBA Europe. Commonly considered to be the European equivalent of the NBA All-Star Game, the FIBA EuroStars Game featu ...

all-star game in 1997, the

FIBA European Champions Cup The EuroLeague is a European men's professional basketball club competition. The league is widely recognised as the top-tier and the most prestigious men's basketball league in Europe. The league consists of 20 teams, of which 16 are given lon ...

(now called

EuroLeague The EuroLeague is a European men's professional basketball club competition. The league is widely recognised as the top-tier and the most prestigious men's basketball league in Europe. The league consists of 20 teams, of which 16 are given lon ...

)

Finals Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

game of the 1971–72 season, and the

EuroLeague Final Four The EuroLeague Final Four is the final four format championship of the European-wide top-tier level EuroLeague professional club basketball competition. The Euroleague Basketball Company used the final four format for the first time in 2002, fo ...

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

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 60 ...

. 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 The 2009 Davis Cup was the 98th edition of the most important tournament between national teams in men's tennis. Sixteen teams participated in the World Group and more than one hundred other took part in different regional groups. Spain won their ...

quarterfinals between Israel and Russia, in July 2009.

Entertainment

The arena has hosted various musical acts, such as:

Teen Angels Teen Angels was an Argentine pop band formed from the TV series '' Casi Ángeles''. Its original members were Lali Espósito (known professionally as Lali), Peter Lanzani, Nicolás Riera, Gastón Dalmau and China Suárez, who would be replac ...

, Lali,

Scorpions Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the Order (biology), order Scorpiones. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by a pair of Chela (organ), grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward cur ...

Paul Anka Paul Albert Anka (born July 30, 1941) is a Canadian and American singer, songwriter and actor. His songs include " Diana", “ You Are My Destiny", “Lonely Boy", " Put Your Head on My Shoulder", and " (You're) Having My Baby". Anka also wr ...

Take That Take That are an English pop group formed in Manchester in 1990. The group currently consists of Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen. The original line-up also featured Jason Orange and Robbie Williams. Barlow is the group's lead singer ...

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British singer and songwriter. Known for his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists of all time, having sold ...

Neil Sedaka Neil Sedaka (; born March 13, 1939) is an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Since his music career began in 1957, he has sold millions of records worldwide and has written or co-written over 500 songs for himself and other artists, collabo ...

Cyndi Lauper Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper ( ; born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Known for her distinctive image, featuring a variety of hair colors and eccentric clothing, and for her powerful four-octave vocal range;Jerome, ...

LMFAO LMFAO (an initialism for Laughing My Freaking Ass Off) was an American electronic dance music duo consisting of Redfoo and Sky Blu (rapper), Sky Blu. Redfoo is the youngest son of Motown Records founder Berry Gordy and Nancy Leiviska. Sky Blu ...

Westlife Westlife are an Irish pop group formed in Dublin in 1998. The group consists of members Nicky Byrne, Shane Filan, Kian Egan and Mark Feehily. Brian McFadden was a member before leaving in March 2004. The group disbanded in 2012 and later reun ...

Five 5 (five) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number. Humans, and many other animals, have 5 digits on their limbs. Mathematics 5 is a Fermat pri ...

Philipp Kirkorov Philipp Bedros Kirkorov (, ; ; born 30 April 1967) is a Bulgarian-born Russian pop singer. Kirkorov's career began in 1985 with participation in the Soviet musical TV show "Wider Circle". Since 2000, he has maintained public interest in his pe ...

Juan Luis Guerra Juan Luis Guerra Seijas (born 7 June 1957) is a People of the Dominican Republic, Dominican musician, singer, composer, and record producer. Throughout his career, he has won numerous awards including 28 Latin Grammy Awards, three Grammy Awards, ...

Natalia Oreiro Natalia Marisa Oreiro Iglesias (; born 19 May 1977) is a Uruguayan actress, singer, songwriter, model, television presenter and fashion designer. She began her career in telenovelas but since 2008 she has switched to work primarily in films. O ...

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer and songwriter. A classically trained pianist, Keys began composing songs at the age of 12 and was signed by Columbia Records at 15. After d ...

Charles Aznavour Charles Aznavour ( ; ; ; born Shahnur Vaghinak Aznavourian; 22 May 1924 – 1 October 2018) was a Armenians in France, French singer and songwriter of Armenian descent. Aznavour was known for his distinctive vibrato tenor voice: clear and ringi ...

Sean Paul Sean Paul Ryan Francis Henriques (born 9 January 1973) is a Jamaican dancehall musician. Paul's first album, ''Stage One'', was released in 2000. He gained international fame with his second album, ''Dutty Rock'', in 2002. Its single "Get Busy ...

, and

Julio Julio is the Spanish equivalent of the month July and may refer to: *Julio (given name) * Julio (surname) * Júlio de Castilhos, a municipality of the western part of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil * ''Julio'' (album), a 1983 compilation al ...

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 label Fonovisa where he released three Spanish albums ''Enrique Iglesias (album), Enrique ...

. The ''

Mamma Mia! Mamma mia (; an Italian interjection, literally "mommy mine"), Mammamia, Mamamia or Mumma Mia may refer to: Music Works associated with ABBA * "Mamma Mia" (ABBA song), a 1975 ABBA song * ''Mamma Mia!'' (musical), a stage play based on ABBA s ...

'' 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 (, ; ) is a Canadian entertainment company and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world. Located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, Montreal, Saint-Michel, Montreal, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 16 Jun ...

. 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. As a stand-up comedian, Seinfeld specializes in observational comedy. Seinfeld gained stardom playing a semi-fictionalized version ...

, 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