The László Papp Budapest Sports Arena (Hungarian: Papp László Budapest Sportaréna), also known as Budapest Sports Arena or locally just Arena, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Budapest, Hungary. It is the second biggest sports complex in the country after MVM Dome, which is also in the capital, and it is named after Hungarian boxer László Papp. The venue can hold up to 12,500 people in its largest concert configuration, up to 11,390 for boxing and 9,479 for ice hockey. It was built as a replacement for the Budapest Sports Hall (Hungarian: Budapest Sportcsarnok, or BS for short) which stood in the same place and was destroyed in a fire in December 1999. A long-distance bus station is situated under the building.
History
The box office of the arena (October 2008)Lady Gaga during a concert in the László Papp Budapest Sports Arena (7 November 2010)
Construction of the arena began on 30 June 2001, after the original, the Budapest Sportcsarnok, built in 1982, burnt to the ground on 15 December 1999. The hall was finished quickly, within a year and a half, and the opening ceremony was held on 13 March 2003. Since 28 May 2004, the arena wears the name of Hungarian boxing great László Papp and is officially known as Papp László Budapest Sports Arena.[1]
The building has a total weight of 200,000 tons and contains 50,000 tons of concrete, 2,300 tons of steel structure, more than 11,000,000 bolts and several kilometres of cable.[1]
The state-of-the-art multifunctional plaza is capable of hosting almost any sort of sporting or civic event, such as basketball, gymnastics, ice skating and ice hockey, and other athletics events. It can also host extreme or thrilling events like monster trucks, motocross, jet-skiing or indoor wave surfing competitions.[2] The arena also is the top venue in the area for touring international musicians and performers, as well as dance recitals, operas, dramas, circuses, musicals and a variety of other special events.[2]
In 2007, the Hungarian Ice Hockey Federation celebrated its 80th anniversary with a friendly match against defending Olympic and World champions Sweden, played at the arena. In a closely fought battle, Hungary finally triumphed 2–1 in overtime against the Scandinavians to the delight of their 8,000 fans.[3]
Between 17 and 23 April 2011, the arena was the home of the 2011 IIHF World Championship Division I. The event enjoyed particular attention by the fans throughout the week and the number of 8700 spectators that attended on the decisive last-round match between Hungary and Italy is close to equal to the figures produced by the top division World Championship final, held a week later in Bratislava, Slovakia.
Following the decision of the European Handball Federation Executive Committee, the organization rights of the 2014 European Women's Handball Championship were awarded to Croatia and Hungary. Budapest Sports Arena was set to host the conclusive stage of the tournament, including the semifinals, the bronze medal match and final.[6][7]
The building is protected by several fire safety systems. One of these is the protection alarm system, which in the event of a fire gives off the alarm within three seconds. The Budapest Sports Arena is also equipped with a fire hydrant system that, in the case of a catastrophe, can be used at more than sixty positions in the building. Every point of the arena can be reached with the help of the fire hoses. As a unique feature in Hungary, the building also contains three high-output water cannons. All three are positioned in the auditorium protecting the area that caused the destruction of the arena's predecessor. The Arena also has numerous fire doors that automatically lock in the case of a fire, so preventing the further spreading of a fire.
