Etihad Arena (initially known as Yas Bay Arena while under construction) 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 ...

in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, located on the Yas Bay Waterfront district of

Yas Island Yas Island ( ar, جزيرة ياس) is an island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. It occupies a total land area of . It is a popular leisure island and one of the top tourism projects in Abu Dhabi. Yas Island holds the Yas Marina Circuit, wh ...

. Designed by HOK, the capacity of the venue is 18,000 and it is operated by Flash Entertainment.

History

In 2018, its design received the 2018 MENA Green Building Award for "Sustainable Building Design of the Year"."Etihad Arena – the best venue ever? Well, probably"
''

FINA FINA (french: Fédération internationale de natation, en, International Swimming Federation, link=yes) (to be renamed as World Aquatics by ) is the international federation recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for administer ...

''. 15 December 2021. Retrieved 15 December 2021. In January 2020, naming rights for the new arena were sold to

Etihad Airways Etihad Airways ( ar, شَرِكَة ٱلْاِتِّحَاد لِلطَّيْرَان, sharikat al-ittiḥād li-ṭ-ṭayarān) is one of two flag carriers of the United Arab Emirates (the other being Emirates). Its head office is in Khalifa ...

. Originally expected to open in March 2020, its opening was delayed due to event cancellations tied to the

COVID-19 pandemic in the United Arab Emirates The COVID-19 pandemic in the United Arab Emirates is part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). The first confirmed case in the United Arab Emirates was announce ...

. It opened in January 2021, with its first event being UFC on ABC: Holloway vs. Kattar. The arena held its second UFC event days later, hosting UFC on ESPN: Chiesa vs. Magny. The

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

had held

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

events on Yas Island behind closed doors in a

bubble Bubble, Bubbles or The Bubble may refer to: Common uses * Bubble (physics), a globule of one substance in another, usually gas in a liquid ** Soap bubble * Economic bubble, a situation where asset prices are much higher than underlying funda ...

arrangement known as " Fight Island"; this marked the UFC's first event in the series to have spectators at a limited capacity. The promotion held its first

PPV PPV, ppv or pPv may refer to: Technology * Pay-per-view on cable or satellite television * People Powered Vehicle, a human-powered vehicle from 1970 * Police Pursuit Vehicles, the most common police vehicles in the United States and Canada Scienc ...

event that same month, hosting UFC 257: Poirier vs. McGregor 2. The UFC returned to Etihad Arena for UFC 267: Błachowicz vs. Teixeira in October 2021. The UFC returned to the arena in 2022 for UFC 280: Oliveira vs. Makhachev. For hosting the 2021 World Swimming Championships in December 2021, a temporary pool was added to the arena. On 21 May 2022, the arena hosted an exhibition boxing match between Floyd Mayweather and Don Moore. On November 5th 2021 a WBA light heavyweight title fight was held between Dmitry Bivol and Gilbert Ramirez. In October 2022, the arena held two

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

preseason games between the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Sou ...

and the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...

. The NBA Abu Dhabi Games 2022 will mark the league’s first games held in the UAE and the Arabian Gulf.

Notable events

* UFC 257: Poirier vs. McGregor 2 * * * World Swimming Championships:

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

"15th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) 2021: Overview"
''

''. Retrieved 22 November 2021. *

International Indian Film Academy Awards The International Indian Film Academy Awards, popularly known as IIFA, is an annual awards ceremony for Bollywood. Produced by Wizcraft International Entertainment Pvt. Ltd, the winners of the awards are decided by fans, who vote online for th ...

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

* UFC 280: Oliveira vs Makhachev

References

Indoor arenas in the United Arab Emirates Sports venues in Abu Dhabi Sports venues completed in 2021 2021 establishments in the United Arab Emirates {{UnitedArabEmirates-sports-venue-stub