Štark Arena

The Belgrade Arena is situated in New Belgrade. Arena's parking is limited in spaces, though nearby residential areas provide enough room for vehicles.

It is a 10-minute walk from Novi Beograd railway station, which offers international train services from Austria, Hungary, Slovenia and Croatia, domestic train services (fast and regional trains) to and from Novi Sad, Subotica and Šid and urban rail services BG Voz.

It takes a 15-minute drive from Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport to the arena. Ride from downtown Belgrade would take the same amount of time, unless in rush-hour, when it could take up to 30 minutes to get to central Novi Beograd, where the arena is located.

The construction of the arena has caused a substantial increase in prices for apartments in the surrounding area, which are mostly new. A new modern business district is scheduled to be constructed across the Belgrade Arena. Hotel IN was the first new hotel to be built near the arena however the venue is also within walking distance from Hyatt Regency Belgrade and Crowne Plaza Belgrade.

During its construction, the provisory name of the arena was "Hala Limes". Yet, when the construction of the arena was finished in 2004, it was given the official name Beogradska Arena (Belgrade Arena). In February 2007, Serbian basketball coach Božidar Maljković started an initiative to name the Arena after another renowned Serbian basketball coach, Aleksandar Nikolić. Maljković presented his initiative to the city officials and the president of Serbia Boris Tadić, but the name change hasn't been accepted.[4] Instead, in 2016, another Belgrade sports hall, Pionir Hall was renamed Aleksandar Nikolić Hall.

Logo used for the arena from 2012 to 2017.

In June 2012, the arena officials signed a five-year agreement with Komercijalna banka to change the name to "Kombank Arena", and the name change became official in September 2012.[5]

During UEFA Futsal Euro 2016, which has been held in February 2016, the Arena has been renamed from Kombank Arena to Belgrade Arena, for sponsorship reasons.[6][7]

In October 2017, the arena was once again renamed, this time to Štark Arena, following the signing of a five-year sponsorship deal with Štark, a food manufacturing company.[8]

Serbia - Brazil FIVB World League 2009 final, 22,680 spectators

The List of events held in Štark Arena lists both past and upcoming events.

The first event held in the Belgrade Arena was a Socialist Party of Serbia and Yugoslav Left final election campaign rally, held on 20 September 2000 before the 2000 Yugoslavian general election. The construction of the Arena wasn't finished at that time. The official opening came nearly four years later, on 31 July 2004, when the FIBA Diamond Ball basketball tournament was held. Since Arena had only temporary license, only several events were held during the next two and a half years. The first event held after getting permanent license was the 50 Cent concert, on 6 November 2006.

One of the biggest events to take place in the Arena was the Eurovision Song Contest 2008. In the final night of the contest an audience of over 20,000 was present. Other big events held in the Arena include numerous sporting events, notably the European championships in basketball (EuroBasket 2005), volleyball (2005 Men's European Volleyball Championship), table tennis (2007 European Table Tennis Championships), and judo (2007 European Judo Championships). The Belgrade Arena was also one of the 69 venues to take part in the 2009 Summer Universiade Games, hosting the opening and closing ceremonies, as well as the basketball competition.

Arena was the host venue for the concerts of the most significant artists of Serbia and former Yugoslavia, as well as major international stars, including 50 Cent, Anastacia, Backstreet Boys, Beyoncé, Andrea Bocelli, Deep Purple, Montserrat Caballé, Nick Cave, The Chemical Brothers, Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood, Joe Cocker, Leonard Cohen, Phil Collins, The Cult, Bob Dylan, Fatboy Slim, Peter Gabriel, Guano Apes, Guns N' Roses, Hurts, Il Divo, Iron Maiden, Jean-Michel Jarre, Elton John, Tom Jones, Judas Priest, Alicia Keys, Mark Knopfler, Lenny Kravitz, Massive Attack, Nicole Scherzinger and The Pussycat Dolls, Queen + Paul Rodgers, Eros Ramazzotti, Jennifer Lopez, Rammstein, Chris Rea, RBD, Rihanna, Sade, Simple Minds, Shakira, Slash, Slayer, Slipknot, Sting, Whitesnake, Roger Waters, Zaz, ZZ Top, OneRepublic, Toše Proeski and many others. The Arena also hosted the second Green Fest music festival with performances by Franz Ferdinand, Cypress Hill and The Raveonettes, the IQ festival headlined by Marylin Manson, and many other concerts, political rallies, product exhibitions and numerous other events.

Also, in several international competitions, the record attendance has been set at the Arena. On 2 February 2009, the 2009 Fed Cup World Group II, Serbia vs. Japan tennis match set a record for an ITF event attendance with a crowd of 15,118 spectators.[16] On 5 March 2009, the first Partizan Belgrade basketball game at Belgrade Arena was held, a 2008–09 Euroleague Top 16 match against Greek powerhouse Panathinaikos. A crowd of 22,567, a record for the Euroleague, saw Partizan win 63–56.[17] On 26 July 2009, the FIVB World League final between Serbia and Brazil was held in Belgrade Arena, with an attendance of 22,680, which is a record of World League.[18]

On 26 March 2014, Crvena Zvezda played Eurocup quarterfinal game against Ukrainian champions Budivelnyk Kiev. Zvezda won in the overtime 79–70 and this match gathered 24,232 spectators, which is a record for the Eurocup and also for any basketball game held indoors in Europe. This is also a record attendance of Belgrade Arena.[1]

The attendance of 18,473 at the final match of the 2016 Men's European Water Polo Championship, between Serbia and Montenegro was the highest one in water polo history.[19][20]

The 2018 EuroLeague Final Four was held at Štark Arena in May 2018.[21]

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  West entrance, 2006
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  North entrance, 2007
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  South entrance, 2011
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  Southeast entrance, 2006
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  2012 European Men's Handball Championship
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  Men's and Women's European Water Polo Championship

• List of stadiums in Serbia
• List of indoor arenas in Serbia
• List of indoor arenas in Europe
• List of tennis stadiums by capacity

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Belgrade Arena.

• Official website (in Serbian)
• Official website (in English)