BK Arena (formerly known as Kigali Arena until 2022) is an multi-purpose

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 ...

Kigali Kigali () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Rwanda. It is near the nation's geographic centre in a region of rolling hills, with a series of valleys and ridges joined by steep slopes. As a primate city, Kigali has been Rwa ...

Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...

, used mostly for basketball and volleyball matches. Built and finished in 2019, it hosts sporting events and concerts. It is the biggest indoor arena in East Africa and is located next to the Amahoro Stadium. The arena is regularly used for games of the Rwanda Basketball League (RBL). It was constructed by SUMMA, a Turkish international contractor. In 2021 Kigali Arena signed a contract with

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Bruce Melodie Itahiwacu Bruce (born 2 March 1992), commonly known as Bruce Melodie is a Rwandan singer and songwriter and a winner of Primus Guma Guma Super Star seasons 8 (PGGSS). He is the Founder of Igitangaza Music record Label. Bruce is also a brand ...

a deal of 150 million RWF, as its brand ambassador for the next three years with a shared objective to position the venue as a regional entertainment hub. On May 24, 2022, the arena's name was changed to the BK Arena after a six-year sponsorship deal worth 7 billion RF with the Bank of Kigali.

Construction

Construction of the Kigali Arena, a joint project of the Rwandan government through the Rwanda Housing Authority (RHA) and Turkish firm Summa, began in January 2019. The construction of the indoor arena was supervised by the RHA. Construction progressed at a fast rate, with around 1,000 to 2,000 people employed to work on the project both in day and night shifts. By mid-June 2019, the indoor arena was at least 70 percent complete and was set to be completed in July 2019. On 9 August 2019, the arena was inaugurated with a basketball game between Patriots BBC and

REG BBC Rwanda Energy Group BBC, commonly known as REG, is a Rwandan basketball club based in Kigali. It is owned and named after the company Rwanda Energy Group Limited. It plays in the Rwanda Basketball League (RBL), the highest tier of basketball in R ...

, with Rwandan President Paul Kagame in attendance. In 2021, Kigali Arena played host to the inaugural edition of the Basketball Africa League (BAL) and the

2021 Afrobasket FIBA AfroBasket 2021 was the 30th edition of the FIBA AfroBasket, a men's basketball continental championship of Africa. The tournament was hosted by Rwanda for the first time. It was originally scheduled to take place between 17 and 29 August ...

championship. In 2022, the second season of the BAL held its playoffs in the arena.

Features

Kigali Arena is a 10,000 capacity indoor arena which is meant for indoor sports such as basketball, handball, volleyball, and tennis, as well as concerts and conferences. The sports venue is situated nearby the 30,000 capacity Amahoro Stadium and the 2,500 capacity Amahoro Indoor Stadium.

Events

The Kigali Arena has hosted various key sports events that the 2019 FIBA Under-16 Women's African Championship, the AfroBasket 2021, and is currently hosting the 2021 African Nations Volleyball Championships. It has hosted the finals of the 2019 Rwandan National Basketball League, selling out multiple games. The arena was supposed to host (only) the Final Four of the inaugural season of the Basketball Africa League (BAL), but eventually hosted the entire regular season of 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

References

External links

* {{Indoor arenas in Africa Buildings and structures in Kigali Indoor arenas in Rwanda Sport in Kigali Sports venues completed in 2019 Sports venues in Kigali