If you have been enjoying your rental flat or holiday accommodation in Madrid, it may be because you have also enjoyed events at the Madrid Arena. The arena provides a great venue for many activities, sports events, fairs and festivals for the population of Madrid. Ensuring that you enjoy all that the city has to offer, ShMadrid suggests you include some of the famous events that take place at this great indoor arena.
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Background information on Madrid Arena
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The arena was built as part of the Casa de Campo Fairgrounds in 2002 as part of the 2016 Madrid Olympic bid, initially constructed to house the basketball competitions. The arena is a closed indoor arena designed by architect Estudio Cana Lasso with a seating capacity of 12,000, reduced to 10,500 for tennis and basketball. The park surrounding the arena was an original hunting estate for the Spanish Royals, but has been converted into the largest urban park in Madrid, housing an amusement park and zoo as well. The arena is well situated for individuals and families to take in events and spend a day at the largest urban park in Madrid.
Basketball
The Madrid Arena was host to the 2007 FIBA Eurobasket championship. As the premier European league it was a great addition to the Arena’s accolades to host the Championship Tournament. Also, the Madrid Arena was home to Club Baloncesto Estudiantes, S.A.D, generally referred to as Tuenti Movil Estudiantes for promotional reasons which is part of the Asociacion de Clubes de Baloncesto (ACB) and is one of the most recognized basketball teams in Spain, from 2003-2010. The team was originally formed in 1948 by a bunch of students at a preparatory school and has grown into one of the premier Spanish professional basketball teams. It has also won the championship three times.
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Tennis
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The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) held their world championship at Madrid Arena in 2006 and 2007. The WTA changes its location for its championship on an annual basis and is home to the best female tennis players in the world for its championship games. This event is considered the fifth most prestigious event after the first four grand slam events. For Spain, and Madrid Arena to host the tournament in back-to-back years proves the caliber and quality of this arena. The arena is also hosted the Madrid Masters tournament from 2002-2008, which is been renamed the Madrid open. The tournament is a professional tennis tournament open to both male and female tennis players and qualifies for world championship tennis tournaments. Interesting to note was that the tournament switched to blue clay to enhance the visibility for TV viewers but switched back to red clay after players found the surface not to their liking. Venturing out from your home or holiday accommodation in Madrid should definitely include a trip to the Madrid Arena and all the surrounding activities and events held at the largest urban park, the Casa de Campo Fairgrounds. Not only could you spend an evening at an event at the arena, but you could spend an entire weekend exploring the park including its Fairgrounds, Lake, zoo and amusement park.
When did you last visit the Madrid Arena? What was the occasion?
