Štark Arena

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Updated On :08 Apr, 2021

Full Name
Štark Arena

Capacity
18,386

Type
Indoor

Location
Belgrade, Central Banat District, Serbia

The Štark Arena, formerly known as Kombank Arena & Belgrade Arena, is a multi-purpose indoor arena situated at Novi Beograd, in Belgrade. With a name Belgrade Arena, it was originally designed as a universal hall for sports to conduct cultural events and other programs. The construction work to build the arena commenced in 1991 but was often stopped due to weak economic conditions of Belgrade. Finally, the work resumed in 1995 as the city was chosen to host the 1999 World Table Tennis Championships. An estimated amount of €70 Million was spent on its construction. The Štark Arena is owned by the City of Belgrade and operated by "Arena Beograd" d.o.o.

Trivia

On 20th September 2000, the arena hosted the final presidential election campaign rally of Slobodan Milošević (former President of Yugoslavia) as its first public event.
Stark Arena is the largest indoor venue in Europe.

Significance

The construction of the arena was completed in 2004, and it hosted the FIBA Diamond Ball tournament. The following year, it hosted the 2005 European Basketball Championship.
In 2005, the arena hosted the European Championship of Basketball (known as EuroBasket 2005) and Men's European Volleyball Championship.
In 2007, the arena witnessed the significant events of European Table Tennis Championships and European Judo Championships.
Kombank Arena is one of those 69 venues that were selected to host significant events of 2009 Summer Universiade Games. It witnessed the opening and closing ceremonies, as well as the basketball competition.
This arena hosted the quarterfinal match of Eurocup Basketball season 2013-14 between Crvena Zvezda and Budivelnyk Kiev. Around 24,232 spectators watched that match, a record attendance at the arena.
The FIVB World League final was held on 26th July 2009, between Serbia and Brazil in Kombank Arena which was witnessed by a record number of 22,680 people.
Many International celebrities and famous rock bands such as Backstreet Boys, Beyoncé, Bob Dylan, Iron Maiden, Jennifer Lopez, Rihanna, Simple Minds, and Shakira have performed at major concerts held at the arena.
The final game of the 2016 Men's European Water Polo Championship, held between Serbia and Montenegro took place at this arena with the highest record attendance of 18,473 viewers in the history of the sport.