The Wunderino-Arena (formerly known as Ostseehalle) is an 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 ...

, in

Kiel Kiel ( ; ) is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. With a population of around 250,000, it is Germany's largest city on the Baltic Sea. It is located on the Kieler Förde inlet of the Ba ...

, Germany. It is primarily used by

THW Kiel THW Kiel is a professional handball club from Kiel, Germany. Currently, they compete in the Handball-Bundesliga and are the record champion with 23 titles. 2007 and 2012 were the most successful years in the club's history, as THW completed t ...

(

team handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball, Olympic handball or indoor handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a Handball goalkeeper, goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands ...

) and as a venue for rock/pop concerts. It holds up to 13,500 people.

History

Construction was determined in 1950 by the Kiel council meeting. The Osteseehalle was initiated on 17 June 1951, during the

Kiel Week The Kiel Week () or Kiel Regatta is an annual sailing event in Kiel, the capital of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is considered to be one of the largest sailing events globally, and also the largest summer festivals in Northern Europe, ...

and was eventually finished in 1952. For this purpose, the steel construction of a retired airplane hangar, from an airbase on the island

Sylt Sylt (; ; Söl'ring North Frisian: ) is an island in northern Germany, part of Nordfriesland district, Schleswig-Holstein, with a distinctively shaped shoreline. It belongs to the North Frisian Islands and is the largest island in North Fris ...

, was dismantled and brought to Kiel. Over the course of decades, the arena was constantly redeveloped, and since renovations finished in September 2001, it is now "prepared for the next 50 years", according to the operators. On 1 January 2008, the

Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe The ''Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe'' ("Savings Banks Financial Group") is a network of public banks that together form the largest financial services group in Germany and Europe by assets. Its name refers to local government-controlled savings banks ...

purchased the naming rights. On 1 July 2020, the name changed to Wunderino Arena. On 16 April 2002, Irish vocal pop band

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 ...

held a concert for their World of Our Own Tour supporting their album

World of Our Own ''World of Our Own'' is the third studio album recorded by Irish boy band Westlife. It was released through RCA Records on 12 November 2001. It reached number one in the United Kingdom and includes the singles " Queen of My Heart" (which was a ...

References

External links

*
Portrait of the Sparkassen-Arena
Sports venues in Schleswig-Holstein Handball venues in Germany Indoor arenas in Germany Buildings and structures in Kiel {{SchleswigHolstein-struct-stub

History

See also

References

External links