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Arena Sofia
Арена София
	Exterior of the arena
Full name	Arena Sofia
Former names	Arena Armeets Sofia (2011–2022)
Address	1 Asen Yordanov Blvd
Location	Sofia, Bulgaria
Coordinates	42°40′16″N 23°22′9″E / 42.67111°N 23.36917°E
Owner	National Sport Base PLC
Capacity	Boxing: 15,545; Tennis, wrestling: 13,545; Basketball, volleyball: 15,373; Concerts: 17,906
Surface	Parquet
Construction
Broke ground	2 July 2009
Opened	30 July 2011
Construction cost	BGN 90 million ; EUR € 47 million
Architect	Zheko Tilev
Main contractors	Glavbolgarstroy
Tenants
	Bulgaria men's national volleyball team (CEV) (2011–present); Sofia Open (ATP 250)
Website
	Venue Website

Arena Sofia (Bulgarian: Арена София, [ɐˈrɛnə ˈsɔfijə]) is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Sofia, Bulgaria. Opened in July 2011, it has a seating capacity of 12,373.^[1] It was formerly called Arena Armeets after the Bulgarian insurance company Armeets purchased the naming rights, until the sponsorship was terminated in October 2022.^[2]

Designed as a universal hall for cultural events and sports, the arena could host up to 30 types of sports, including basketball, volleyball, handball, futsal, boxing, tennis, weightlifting, fencing and gymnastics competitions, as well as concerts with a maximum capacity of 17,906. There are 887 parking lots, 614 of them placed in a central exterior parking, 231 placed in near streets and 42 designated for disabled people.

Major events and notable firsts

The first major concert in the arena was held by Jean Michel Jarre, followed by artists Sade and Amorphis.

The arena has hosted the 2012 European Taekwon-do ITF championship in May, followed by the 2012 Aerobic Gymnastics World Championships in the first three days of June. The city was previously awarded the 2004 edition of the event.^[3]

During three days in February 2012 the arena hosted the Cirque du Soleil show Saltimbanco for the first time in Bulgaria.^[4] Between 9 and 11 November 2012 it also hosted the travelling ice show Disney on Ice, another debut for the country.^[5]

The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2015 was held in the arena on 21 November 2015, the first time a Eurovision event was held in Bulgaria.^[6]

The arena recorded its first sold-out game on 9 June 2012, when 12,501 fans (128 more than the official capacity) came to see the Olympic qualification volleyball match between France and Bulgaria. It will be used for the 2020 FIBA Under-17 Basketball World Cup.

Bulgaria's ruling GERB party is a consistent user of the arena, having held its rallies and conferences within it for years. This trend was bucked during late 2019 Bulgarian local elections, as the party wanted to undertake a "humble" campaign.^[7]

List of major concerts

Jean Michel Jarre – 9 October 2011
Sade – 29 October 2011
Amorphis – 10 November 2011
Tom Jones – 18 November 2011
Lepa Brena – 3 December 2011
Mark Knight – 25 December 2011
Tarja Turunen – 27 January 2012
Solar Easter: Marco Carola and Victor Calderone – 13 April 2012
Ceca – 22 May 2012
Julio Iglesias – 13 June 2012
Lady Gaga – 14 August 2012 17 000
Red Hot Chili Peppers – 1 September 2012^[8]
Jennifer Lopez – 18 November 2012^[9]
Lili Ivanova – 22 November 2012
Goran Bregović – 29 November 2012^[10]
Giorgos Mazonakis – 12 December 2012
Solar Christmas 2012: Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano, Fedde le Grand, Sophie Ellis-Bextor – 21 December 2012
Armin van Buuren – 8 March 2013 – A State of Trance 600, with Dash Berlin, Ferry Corsten, Myon & Shane 54, Dennis Sheperd and Ruben de Ronde
Helloween and Gamma Ray – 15 March 2013
We Will Rock You (musical) – 15–19 May 2013
Jamiroquai – 28 June 2013
Jessie J – 29 June 2013
Snoop Dogg – 8 July 2013
Signal – 27 November 2013
Ennio Morricone – 10 December 2013^[11]
Scorpions – 16 December 2013
Armin van Buuren – Armin Only: Intense – 7 February 2014
Iron Maiden – 16 June 2014
Ceca - 7 November 2014
Slavi Trifonov & Ku-Ku Band - 25 April 2015
OneRepublic – 2 June 2015
Skrillex – 5 June 2015
Roxette – 17 June 2015
Toto - 28 June 2015
Judas Priest - 30 June 2015
Lepa Brena – 22 October 2015
Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2015 – 21 November 2015
Violetta - 6 November 2015
Whitesnake - 24 November 2015
Enrique Iglesias – 14 December 2015
Al Bano – 16 December 2015
Ricchi e Poveri – 16 April 2016
Enrique Iglesias – 14 May 2016
Tiësto – 5 June 2016
Foreigner - 12 June 2016
Scorpions - 17 July 2016
Nightwish - 14 September 2016
Bryan Adams - 11 October 2016
Mile Kitić – 20 October 2016
Lyube - 10 December 2016
Dragana Mirkovic - 16 December 2016
Intersolar 2016: Richie Hawtin, Tale Of Us, The Martinez Brothers, Liubo Ursiny - 31 December 2016
Ceca – 16–17 March 2017
Vivaldianno - 19 March 2017
Vladimir Ampov - Grafa - 6 April 2017
Goran Bregović & Bijelo Dugme - 07 April 2017
Hits Only: C. C. Catch, Sandra & Samantha Fox - 29 April 2017
Vasilis Karras - 10 May 2017
Upsurt - 13 May 2017
Deep Purple - 14 May 2017
Europe - 16 May 2017
Moscow State Circus - 20 May 2017
Cirque du Soleil - Varekai - 26–28 May 2017
50 Years Shturtsite - 03 June 2017
Slavi Trifonov & Ku-Ku band - 16–18 June 2017
Sting - 16 September 2017
Sully Erna - 26 September 2017
40 Years FSB - 07 October 2017
Dubioza Kolektiv - 27 October 2017
Charles Aznavour - 30 November 2017
2Cellos - 04 December 2017
Sofi Marinova - 09 December 2017
Helloween - 14 December 2017
Solar Christmas 2017: Armin van Buuren, Fedde Le Grand - 22 December 2017
Intersolar 2017 Marco Carola, Liubo Ursiny - 31 December 2017
Lepa Brena - 23 March 2018
Goran Bregović - 13 April 2018
45 Years Tonika - 14 April 2018
Nova Generacia, Kontrol, Review & Hipodil - 21 April 2018
Roger Waters - 04 May 2018
Foreigner - 09 May 2018
David Garrett - 6 June 2018
Enrique Iglesias - 06 November 2018
Hits Only: DJ BoBo - 10 November 2018
Skandau - 06 April 2019
Lenny Kravitz - 04 May 2019
Evanescence - 11 September 2019
Deep Purple - 07 December 2019
Five Finger Death Punch & Megadeth – 22 February 2020
Deep Purple - 29 May 2022
Iron Maiden - 13 July 2022
Godsmack - 25 October 2022
Pantera - 26 May 2023

List of major sporting events

European qualification tournament for Wrestling at the 2012 Summer Olympics – April 2012
European qualification for the 2012 Men's Olympic Volleyball Tournament – 8–13 May 2012
2012 Aerobic Gymnastics World Championships – 1–3 June 2012
World qualification for the 2012 Men's Olympic Volleyball Tournament – 8–10 June 2012
2012 FIVB World League Final Round – 4–8 July 2012
2012 WTA Tournament of Champions – 30 October – 4 November 2012
2013 Summer Deaflympics – 26 July – 4 August 2013
2013 WTA Tournament of Champions – 29 October – 3 November 2013
2013 Trampoline World Championships - 7–10 November 2013
2014 European Women's Artistic Gymnastics Championships – 12–18 May 2014
2014 European Men's Artistic Gymnastics Championships – 19–25 May 2014
2014 FIG Rhythmic Gymnastics World Cup Sofia - 9–10 August 2014
2014 WTA Tournament of Champions – 28 October – 2 November 2014
2015 FIG Rhythmic Gymnastics World Cup Sofia - 15–16 August 2015
2015 Men's European Volleyball Championship - 9–18 October 2015
2016 Garanti Koza Sofia Open - 1–7 February 2016
2016 FIG Rhythmic Gymnastics World Cup Sofia - 27–29 May 2016
2016 World Sambo Championships - 10–14 November 2016
2017 Garanti Koza Sofia Open - 5–12 February 2017
2017 European Taekwondo Championships 20–23 April 2017
2017 FIG Rhythmic Gymnastics World Cup Sofia - 5–7 May 2017
2017 Trampoline World Championships - 9–12 November 2017
2018 Diema Xtra Sofia Open - 4–11 February 2018
2018 World Junior Figure Skating Championships - 5–11 March 2018
2018 FIG Rhythmic Gymnastics World Cup Sofia - 30 March-1 April 2018
2018 Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships - 10–16 September 2018
2018 FIVB Volleyball World Championship - 9–30 September 2018
2020 FIBA Under-17 Basketball World Cup - 4–12 July 2020

References

^ "Technical details". Archived from the original on 2016-09-20. Retrieved 2016-09-15.
^ "Най-голямата зала в България остана без спонсор". СЕГА (in Bulgarian). 2022-10-06. Retrieved 2022-10-06.
^ "2012 Sofia AER World Championships : Homepage". Sofia2012.fig-gymnastics.com. Retrieved 2012-09-09.
^ [1] Archived January 9, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
^ "Дисни на лед - Събитие - Арена Армеец София". Arenaarmeecsofia.com. Archived from the original on 2012-11-03. Retrieved 2012-09-09.
^ "Junior Eurovision 2015: 21 November in Sofia, Bulgaria". JuniorEurovision.tv. 30 March 2015. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
^ "За първи път: Без зала "Арена Армеец" в кампанията на ГЕРБ". www.24chasa.bg. Retrieved 2019-10-28.
^ [2] Archived July 23, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
^ "Дженифър Лопес - Събитие - Арена Армеец София". Arenaarmeecsofia.com. Archived from the original on 2012-11-04. Retrieved 2012-09-09.
^ "Горан Брегович - Събитие - Арена Армеец София". Arenaarmeecsofia.com. Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2012-09-09.
^ "ENNIO MORRICONE – THE BEST MOVIE MUSIC COMPOSER OF THE 20TH CENTURY FOR THE FIRST TIME IN BULGARIA (ArenaArmeecSofia.com)". Archived from the original on 2013-10-19. Retrieved 2013-10-18.

External links

Official website (in Bulgarian)
Official website (in English)
List with actual events (in Bulgarian)

Preceded by Ergo Arena Gdańsk / Sopot	FIVB Volleyball World League Final Venue 2012	Succeeded by Polideportivo Islas Malvinas Mar del Plata
Preceded by Malta Shipbuilding Marsa, Malta	Junior Eurovision Song Contest Venue 2015	Succeeded by Mediterranean Conference Centre Valletta