The Biggest Indoor Arenas In The World

What Is An Indoor Arena? What Purpose Does It Serve?

An arena is an oval or circular-shaped design used to showcase musical performance, sporting events or a theater and it is often an enclosed area. The word arena is derived from the Latin word Harena. The arena has a large open space that is surrounded from all sides with tiered seats for spectators. One prominent feature of an arena is the large open space for the event is at the lowest point to allow maximum visibility by all the spectators. The Colosseum of Rome is one of the biggest and oldest arenas. Arenas are designed to accommodate a large number of spectators, and currently, the biggest arena in the world is the Philippine Arena that has a seating capacity of 55,000 spectators.

The Three Biggest Indoor Arenas In The World

The Philippine Arena

The Philippine arena is the world’s largest multipurpose indoor arena with a maximum seating capacity of 55,000 spectators covering an area of 140 hectares in the Bocaue in the Philippines. The arena is owned by the Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC) institution of the New Era University. The construction of the structure started in August 2011 by the Korean firm Hanwha Engineering and construction was the main contractor and was completed in May 2014 at the cost of $213million. The arena has four floors, and the main ground covering 36,443.6 m² (392,276 sq ft) and the height reach 65 m (213 ft).The arena has been featured in Discovery Channel showing it as one of the safe structures against typhoons and earthquakes in the Philippines. The Arena was also awarded the title of the best sports project in Asia in 2013 by the World Finance and in 2014 Guinness World Records recognized the arena as the largest multipurpose indoor theater.

Paris La Défense Arena

The Paris La Defense Arena was constructed for the 2024 Olympics that are set to be held in Paris, France. The arena is actually located in a Parisian suburb called Nanterre. It can sit up to 40,000 people for concerts. Aside from musical events, the arena also hosts sporting events such as basketball games, rugby games, and the Paris Motorcross. 

Romexpo

Romexpo is a large indoor arena located in Bucharest, Romania. The arena can host 40,000 spectators during concerts. The arena has been in use since the 1960s. The arena is also used for other purposes, including sporting events and large expos. 

The Saitama Super Arena

Saitama Super Arena is the world’s second largest indoor and multipurpose arena in Saitama City in Japan, which has a maximum seating capacity of 37,000 people. The Arena has large movable sections of seating with the ability to reduce the capacity for smaller events and creating a more intimate setting for the spectators. It is the only Arena in Japan that is equipped for the American football. Saitama Arena is home to Saitama Broncos, which is the Professional Basketball League team in Japan and it is also the favorite venue for the Japanese Professional Wrestling (Puroresu). The arena was designed by the Nikken Sekkei Architects of Japan and was opened in 2000. It is owned by the Saitama Arena Corporation, and the cost of construction was $195 million. The arena has hosted several major events in music and sports like the NBA basketball teams, NHL ice hockey, WWE Raw among others.

SC Olimpiyskiy

Sports Complex Olimpiyskiy also was known as Olympic Stadium, or Olimpiski is an indoor arena found in Moscow city, Russia. It is the third largest indoor arena in the world with a maximum capacity of 35,000 people. It was constructed in 1980 for summer Olympics and has hosted major sporting events and musical concerts among other. The arena is home to Kremlin Cup tournament and in 1999 hosted the FIBA Eurostar games it was the hosting ground for Euroleague Final four in 2005. In 2014, the stadium was auctioned by the Moscow city, and Zao Neftegazprod and Oil Company bought 65% of ownership at about $108 million.