The Commonwealth Arena and Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome, known for sponsorship reasons as the Emirates Arena, 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 ...

and

velodrome A velodrome is an arena for track cycling. Modern velodromes feature steeply banked oval tracks, consisting of two 180-degree circular bends connected by two straights. The straights transition to the circular turn through a moderate Track tran ...

Dalmarnock Dalmarnock (, gd, Dail Mheàrnaig) is a district in the Scottish city of Glasgow. It is situated east of the city centre, directly north of the River Clyde opposite the town of Rutherglen. It is also bounded by the Glasgow neighbourhoods of P ...

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, Scotland. Built for the

2014 Commonwealth Games The 2014 Commonwealth Games ( gd, Geamannan a' Cho-fhlaitheis 2014), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014, ( sco, Glesca 2014 or Glesga 2014; gd, Glaschu 2014), was an international multi-sport ev ...

, these venues hosted the badminton and

track cycling Track cycling is a bicycle racing sport usually held on specially built banked tracks or velodromes using purpose-designed track bicycles. History Track cycling has been around since at least 1870. When track cycling was in its infancy, it wa ...

events. Situated opposite

Celtic Park Celtic Park is the home stadium of Celtic Football Club, in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, Scotland. With a capacity of 60,832, it is the largest football stadium in Scotland, and the eighth-largest stadium in the United Kingdom. It is also ...

in the

East End The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...

of Glasgow, the complex is the headquarters of

Sportscotland Sportscotland (officially styled sport), formerly the Scottish Sports Council, is the national agency for sport in Scotland. The Scottish Sports Council was established in 1972 by royal charter. The body works in partnership with public, pri ...

and

Scottish Cycling Scottish Cycling, legally the Scottish Cyclists' Union (SCU), is the governing body for cycle sport in Scotland and is part of British Cycling, the national governing body in Britain. Scottish Cycling is currently located in the Sir Chris Ho ...

History

It was built on a site at a cost of £113 million. The construction work took place between 2009 and 2012. The venue opened in October 2012. In September 2017, neighbours

Celtic F.C. The Celtic Football Club, commonly known as Celtic (), is a Scottish professional football club based in Glasgow, which plays in the Scottish Premiership. The club was founded in 1887 with the purpose of alleviating poverty in the immigran ...

had plans approved for the construction of a hotel complex within their land, situated directly across the road from the arena and velodrome.

Indoor arena

Emirates Arena on Glasgow Rocks Opening Night (cropped)

The Indoor Arena has a capacity of 6,500 and during the Commonwealth Games it had twelve badminton courts in three indoor sports halls. The arena has a hydraulically lifted 200m indoor

running track An all-weather running track is a rubberized, artificial running surface for track and field athletics. It provides a consistent surface for competitors to test their athletic ability unencumbered by adverse weather conditions. Historically, v ...

that hosted the

Aviva International Match The Sainsbury's International Match, formerly known as the Aviva International Match, was an annual indoor track and field athletics meeting which takes place in late January in Glasgow, Scotland. The televised competition is the first major ind ...

, which will move from Kelvin Hall. At the start of the 2012–13 British Basketball League season the

Glasgow Rocks The Caledonia Gladiators are a professional basketball club in Glasgow, Scotland. The Gladiators compete in the British Basketball League, the top tier of British basketball. Since 2012, the team have played their home games at the Emirates A ...

moved from the Kelvin Hall to the new arena. With their opening game against traditional arch-rivals

Newcastle Eagles The Newcastle Eagles are a professional basketball team based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Playing in the top-tier British Basketball League and holding the franchise for Tyne & Wear, they are the most successful team in the League's histor ...

selling out. With 1,500 extra floor seats around the arena's running track, it became the largest arena of any club in the

British Basketball League The British Basketball League (BBL) is a men's professional basketball league in Great Britain and represents the highest level of play in the countries. The league is contested by 10 teams from England and Scotland. There are no clubs howeve ...

at the time, and on 8 November 2012 it was announced by the League that the arena would become the venue for the final of the BBL Trophy. In 2015 the

Great Britain Davis Cup team The Great Britain Davis Cup team has represented the United Kingdom internationally since 1900 in the Davis Cup. Organised by the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), it is one of the 50 members of International Tennis Federation's European associatio ...

played the United States in the first round and Australia in the Semi-final at the 2015 Davis Cup, featuring top British player and world number three

Andy Murray Sir Andrew Barron Murray (born 15 May 1987) is a British professional tennis player from Scotland. He was ranked world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 41 weeks, and finished as the year-end No. 1 in 2016. Murray h ...

. The arena capacity was expanded to 8,200 for the semi-final to comply with requirements for the Davis Cup. Great Britain played again at the arena for the 2016 Davis Cup semifinals. The arena was the main venue for the

2019 European Athletics Indoor Championships The 2019 European Athletics Indoor Championships was held between 1 and 3 March 2019 at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland. This was the second time this event was held in the city after the 1990 edition and the third time it was held in the ...

Velodrome

The Velodrome has a 250-meter indoor track with a capacity of 2,500 (2,000 seated), expanding to 4,500 (4,000 seated) with temporary seating during the Games. The Velodrome is named after Olympic and

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

gold-medal winning Scottish cyclist

Sir Chris Hoy Sir Christopher Andrew Hoy MBE (born 23 March 1976) is a former track cyclist and Racing driver from Scotland who represented Great Britain at the Olympic and World Championships and Scotland at the Commonwealth Games. Hoy is eleven-times a w ...

, who was, at the time, Britain's most successful Olympic athlete. It opened in October 2012, and hosted a round of the 2012–13

UCI Track Cycling World Cup The UCI Track Cycling World Cup (formerly known as the UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics) is a multi race tournament held over a track cycling season - usually between October and February. Each series is divided into several rounds, each held i ...

series In August 2013, it hosted the 2013 UCI Juniors Track World Championships. It was the venue for the

. The velodrome hosted the European Track Cycling Championships, which was part of the first European Sports Championships. The arena has parking for 416 cars and 26 disabled bays. Overflow parking is available at Celtic Park.

References

External links

Official websiteCommonwealth Games pageFly-through video
{{Indoor arenas UK Cycle racing in Scotland Sports venues in Glasgow Velodromes in Scotland Indoor arenas in Scotland Parkhead Bridgeton–Calton–Dalmarnock 2014 Commonwealth Games venues Sports venues completed in 2012 2012 establishments in Scotland Basketball venues in Scotland Badminton venues Badminton in Scotland 2018 European Championships venues 2017 BWF World Championships Glasgow Rocks 2015 Davis Cup 2016 Davis Cup 2019 European Athletics Indoor Championships 2018 UEC European Track Championships Netball venues in Scotland