Malha Arena

Malha Arena
Map
LocationJerusalem, Israel
Coordinates31°45′23.84″N 35°10′52.04″E / 31.7566222°N 35.1811222°E / 31.7566222; 35.1811222
Capacity2,000
Construction
Opened1985
Renovated1997, 2010, 2013, 2017
Expanded2010
Tenants
Hapoel Jerusalem (1985–2014) Hapoel Jerusalem (Handball) (2021–Present)

The Malha Arena (officially called Lea and Maurice Goldberg Sports Hall)[1] is a multi-purpose indoor arena that is located in Jerusalem's Malha neighborhood, across from Ramat Denya and Ramat Sharett. The arena is primarily used to host basketball, futsal, and handball games, and gymnastics.

Despite its small size, the arena traps in noise, and distracts the opposing team. This gives a boost to players towards the end of the game, when they need it most, according to the former head coach of Hapoel Jerusalem, Guy Goodes.[2]

History

Malha Arena was the home arena of the Hapoel Jerusalem professional basketball team, from 1985 until 2014, when the team moved to the newly constructed Pais Arena. Construction of the Jerusalem Arena began in 2009, in Malha, east of Teddy Stadium. The Jerusalem Arena eventually replaced the Malha Arena as Hapoel's home venue in 2014.

See also

References

  1. ^ Jerusalem Foundation projects Archived 2009-12-28 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Miller, Adam (April 27, 2009). "The power of Malha". Jerusalem Post. Retrieved April 12, 2021.