Minsk Arena () is the main

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 ...

Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

. The Minsk-Arena complex includes the main multi-purpose arena (capable of hosting 15,000 spectators) with an open multi-level parking lot (with 1,080 parking spaces) alongside an interconnected 2,000-seat

velodrome A velodrome is an arena for track cycling. Modern velodromes feature steeply banked oval tracks, consisting of two 180-degree circular bends connected by two straights. The straights transition to the circular turn through a moderate easement ...

and a 3,000-seat

speed skating rink A speed skating rink (or speed skating oval) is an ice rink in which a speed skating competition is held. The rink A standard long track speed skating track is, according to the regulations of the International Skating Union (ISU), a double-lane ...

Complex venues

Minsk-Arena was created by the decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus on the construction of a multi-disciplinary sports complex, which was issued at the end of 2005. Construction work began in the spring of 2006. The general designer of the complex was "Bilproekt", and the general contractor was "Minskprombud". The Minsk Arena Velodrome opened on 30 December 2008 and can accommodate 2,000 spectators. Owned by the city of Minsk, the velodrome was designed by the architectural firm Schuermann and Belgos Projekt. The length of the cycling track is 250 m and its surface is made of Siberian spruce wood and is directly connected to the indoor skating rink which opened on 30 January 2010. In February 2013, the 2013 UCI Track Cycling World Championships were held in the velodrome. In June 2019, the facility hosted track cycling competitions as part of the 2019 European Games. The Minsk Arena speed skating hall with a 400-meter track is the first indoor speed skating hall in Belarus. The ice surface has a total area of around 10,000 m2, of which 5,000 m2 is the speed skating rink. Inside the track there are two ice hockey fields (60×30 m and 60×28 m) and two curling fields. Training can be carried out under altitude training conditions in a special room. To do this, the air pressure is lowered and the oxygen content in the air is reduced.

Events

Entertainment

It was the host venue for the

Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2010 The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2010 was the eighth edition of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest and took place in Minsk, Belarus. It was held on 20 November 2010. The contest was won by Vladimir Arzumanyan from Armenia with the song "Mama (V ...

and

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

. Several notable people have performed in the arena. Colombian singer

Shakira Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll ( , ; born 2 February 1977) is a Colombian singer-songwriter. Referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Latin Music", she has had a Cultural impact of Shakira, significant impact on the ...

performed during her

The Sun Comes Out World Tour The Sun Comes Out World Tour (also known as the Sale el Sol World Tour) was the fifth concert tour by Colombian singer Shakira, launched in support of her eighth and ninth studio albums, ''She Wolf (album), She Wolf'' (2009) and ''Sale El Sol' ...

on 19 May 2011.

Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Lopez (born July 24, 1969), also known by her nickname J.Lo, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, dancer and businesswoman. Lopez is regarded as one of the most influential entertainers of her time, credited with breaking ...

performed during her Dance Again World Tour on 25 September 2012. Armin Van Buuren performed on 7 March 2013 as part of a celebration to commemorate 600 episodes of

A State of Trance ''A State of Trance'' (often abbreviated as ASOT) is a Dutch Trance music, trance radio show, hosted by Armin van Buuren and co-producer Ruben de Ronde, that first aired in June 2001. It is currently aired weekly every Thursday at 20:00 (CET) a ...

Lana Del Rey Elizabeth Woolridge Grant (born June 21, 1985), known professionally as Lana Del Rey, is an American singer-songwriter. Lana Del Rey discography, Her music is noted for its melancholic exploration of Glamour (presentation), glamor and Romanc ...

performed during her

Paradise Tour The Paradise Tour was the second concert tour by American singer, Lana Del Rey, in support of her third extended play, ''Paradise (Lana Del Rey EP), Paradise''. The tour kicked off on April 3, 2013, at Galaxie Amnéville, Galaxie Mega Hall in ...

on 12 June 2013.

Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music, electronic band formed in Basildon, Essex in 1980. Originally formed with the line-up of Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, Andy Fletcher (musician), Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke, the band currently consists ...

performed on 29 July 2013 and on 28 February 2014 during their Delta Machine Tour. They performed again on 13 February 2018 for their Global Spirit Tour. French singer

Mylène Farmer Mylène Jeanne Gautier (; born 12 September 1961), known professionally as Mylène Farmer (), is a French singer and songwriter. Having sold more than 30 million records worldwide, she is among the most successful recording artists of all time ...

performed on 27 October 2013. Comedian Rolilney Biong performed on 19 October 2019 during his European Tour.

Sports

One of the primary uses of the facility is

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

, as the building is the home rink of

HC Dinamo Minsk Hockey Club Dinamo Minsk or HC Dinamo Minsk (; , ''Dynama-Minsk'') is a professional ice hockey club based in Minsk, Belarus. It is a member of the Tarasov Division in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). Dinamo has qualified for the KHL playof ...

of the

Kontinental Hockey League The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL; ) is an international professional ice hockey league founded in 2008. It comprises member clubs based in Russia (20), Belarus (1), Kazakhstan (1), and China (1) for a total of 23 clubs. It was considered in ...

. The arena replaced the much smaller Minsk Sports Palace built in 1966 with around 3,300 seats, in which Dinamo had used as their home arena since its founding in 2004. The arena's official opening was held on 30 January 2010 when the 2nd Kontinental Hockey League All-Star Game was held there. However, the first match in the facility had already been played by Dinamo Minsk on 14 January 2010 against

Metallurg Magnitogorsk Metallurg Magnitogorsk () is a professional ice hockey club based in Magnitogorsk, Russia. It is a member of the Kharlamov Division in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). The club also competed in the Champions Hockey League (2008–09), Champion ...

. It was one of two main venues for the

2014 IIHF World Championship The 2014 IIHF World Championship was hosted by Belarus in its capital, Minsk, held from 9 to 25 May 2014. Sixteen national teams were competing in two venues, the Minsk-Arena and Chizhovka-Arena. It was the first time Belarus hosted the tourname ...

. In January 2016, the 2016 European Speed Skating Championships were held. In January 2016, the venue hosted the tournament

eSports Esports (), short for electronic sports, is a form of competition using video games. Esports often takes the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players, played individually or as teams. ...

Starladder i-League Season 13, which included games such as

Dota 2 ''Dota 2'' is a 2013 multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game by Valve Corporation, Valve. The game is a sequel to ''Defense of the Ancients'' (''DotA''), a community-created Mod (video gaming), mod for Blizzard Entertainment's ''War ...

and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.

References

External links