Arena Riga ( lv, Arēna Rīga) is an

indoor arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators ...

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

. It is primarily used for ice hockey, basketball and concerts. Arena Riga holds a maximum of 14,500 and was opened on 15 February 2006. It was built to be used as one of the venues for the

2006 IIHF World Championship The 2006 IIHF World Championship was held in between 5–21 May 2006 in Riga, Latvia. It was the 70th annual event, and was run by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). One of the requirements of the IIHF for Latvia to host the event ...

, the other being Skonto Arena. The arena was designed by the Canadian company

SCI Architects SCI may refer to: Companies * Service Corporation International, an American funeral service provider *Shipping Corporation of India *SCI Systems, merged into Sanmina Corporation, electronics manufacturing *SCi Games, a video game developer Org ...

and Latvian firms SIA Merks and SIA Nams.

History

The 11,000-seat arena was constructed as a requirement for hosting the

. Its construction overseen by

Latvian Ice Hockey Federation The Latvian Ice Hockey Federation ( lv, Latvijas Hokeja federācija), commonly abbreviated as LHF is the Sport governing body, governing body that oversees ice hockey in Latvia, including the Latvian Hockey Higher League, the Latvia women's nation ...

president

Kirovs Lipmans Kirovs Lipmans (born 5 November 1940) is a Latvian business person and former ice hockey executive. He served as president of the Latvian Ice Hockey Federation from 1994 to 1995, and from 1998 to 2016; was a member of the Latvian Olympic Committ ...

was delayed due to disagreements on the construction contract and finding an investor to fund the project. '' The Baltic Times'' reported that Lipmans was to blame for the delays, and that he was asked to resign for a conflict of interest in owning shares in the arena's management company. It has been home to the Latvian national ice hockey team ever since and the Kontinental Hockey League club

Dinamo Riga Dinamo Riga ( lv, Rīgas Dinamo) is a professional ice hockey team based in Riga, Latvia. It is a member of the Latvian Hockey Higher League. The club is affiliated with HK Zemgale/LLU. The club was re-founded on 7 April 2008 as a successor of ...

since 2008, as well as the Latvian men's and

women's A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardl ...

national basketball teams since 2006. During the years the arena has also hosted many well-known artists from all over the world. A part of the events of the 2006 NATO Summit also took place in the venue. The arena hosted the matches of EuroBasket Women 2009, EuroBasket Women 2019 and 'D' group of Eurobasket 2015. The arena will host matches for the

EuroBasket 2025 The EuroBasket 2025 will be the 42nd edition of the EuroBasket championship, the quadrennial international men's basketball championship organized by FIBA Europe. Like the previous three editions, the tournament will be co-hosted by multiple cou ...

including the final phase.

Notable events

* Sensation White 2007 * IIHF Continental Cup 2008 * 2008 IIHF World Junior Ice Hockey Championships – Division I * EuroBasket Women 2009 * Dinamo Riga vs. Phoenix Coyotes 2010 *

2011 FIBA Under-19 World Championship The 2011 FIBA Under-19 World Championship (Latvian: 2011. gada FIBA pasaules čempionāts līdz 19 gadu vecumam) was the 10th edition of the FIBA U19 World Championship, the biennial international men's youth basketball championship contested by ...

2012 Kontinental Hockey League All-Star Game The 2012 Kontinental Hockey League All-Star Game was the All-Star game for the 2011-12 season of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). It took place on 20 (Legends Game) and 21 (All-Star Game) January 2012 at the Arena Riga in Riga, Latvia. Skill ...

2013 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship The 2013 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship was the 30th edition of the FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship. 16 teams participated in the competition, held in Latvia, from 18 to 28 July 2013. Croatia were the defending champions. Turkey became the new ...

* 8th World Choir Games 2014 * EuroBasket 2015 *

2016 European Wrestling Championships The 2016 European Wrestling Championships were held in Riga, Latvia, from 8 March to 13 March 2016. Medal overview Medal table Team ranking Men's freestyle Men's Greco-Roman Women's freestyle References External links Official site< ...

2016 Men's World Floorball Championships The 2016 Men's World Floorball Championships were the 11th World Championships in men's floorball. The tournament took place in Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, ...

* Eurovision Choir of the Year 2017 * World Boxing Super Series 2017–18, 2018–19 * 2018 IIHF World U18 Championships – Division I A *

2018 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship The 2018 FIBA U18 European Championship was the 35th edition of the FIBA U18 European Championship. The competition took place in Riga, Ventspils and Liepāja, Latvia, from 28 July to 5 August 2018. Participating teams * * (Winners, 2017 FIBA ...

* 2019 UEFA Under-19 Futsal Championship * EuroBasket Women 2019 (partially held in Serbia) *

2019 Fed Cup The 2019 Fed Cup was the 57th edition of the most important tournament between national teams in women's tennis. In one of the biggest shocks in this year's tournament, Romania upset title holders and 11-time winners Czech Republic at Ostrava ...

( vs ) *

2021 IIHF World Championship The 2021 IIHF World Championship () took place from 21 May to 6 June 2021. It was originally to be co-hosted by Minsk, Belarus and Riga, Latvia, as the IIHF announced on 19 May 2017 in Cologne, Germany. Their joint bid won by a very tight margin ...

2021 FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup The 2021 FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup (Latvian: 2021. gada FIBA Pasaules kauss basketbolā līdz 19 gadu vecumam) was the 15th edition of the FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup, the biennial international men's youth basketball championship ...

* 2022 UEFA Futsal Champions League Finals *

2023 IIHF World Championship The 2023 IIHF World Championship will be co-hosted by Tampere, Finland and Riga, Latvia. The tournament is scheduled to be held from 12 to 28 May 2023, and will be organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). Host nation bid The ...

Concerts in Arena Riga

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References

External links

Official websiteArena Riga at Hockeyarenas.netarchived copy

Arena Riga at worldstadiums.com
{{Authority control Sports venues completed in 2006 Buildings and structures in Riga Indoor arenas in Latvia Indoor ice hockey venues in Latvia Basketball venues in Latvia Sports venues in Latvia Sport in Riga Kontinental Hockey League venues Snooker venues 2006 establishments in Latvia

History

Notable events

Concerts in Arena Riga

See also

References

External links