Žalgiris Arena is a 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 ...

in the

New Town New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

Kaunas Kaunas (; ; also see other names) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the largest city and the centre of a county in the Duchy of Trakai ...

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

. The arena is located on an island of the

Nemunas River The Neman, Nioman, Nemunas or MemelTo bankside nations of the present: Lithuanian: be, Нёман, , ; russian: Неман, ''Neman''; past: ger, Memel (where touching Prussia only, otherwise Nieman); lv, Nemuna; et, Neemen; pl, Niemen; ...

. It is the largest indoor arena in

the Baltics The Baltic states, et, Balti riigid or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term, which currently is used to group three countries: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, ...

. The arena's maximum possible

seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...

for basketball games is 15,450, and 20,000 spectators for concerts (when the stage is in the middle, and 17,000 when stage is in the side of the arena). The Žalgiris Arena replaced the

Kaunas Sports Hall Kaunas Sports Hall ( lt, Kauno sporto halė), also known as the S. Darius and S. Girėnas Hall is the second largest arena of Kaunas, Lithuania. It is the first arena built in the residential Žaliakalnis neighbourhood of Kaunas specially for ...

as a major venue in the city. The Žalgiris Arena is used to host basketball games as well as concerts. The arena's namesake basketball club

BC Žalgiris Basketball Club Žalgiris ( lt, Krepšinio klubas Žalgiris) is a professional basketball team that is based in Kaunas, Lithuania, and competes domestically in the Lietuvos krepšinio lyga (LKL, Lithuanian Basketball League). Founded in 1944, i ...

, which currently competes in the domestic LKL and the EuroLeague, uses the facility for all of its European and LKL home fixtures.

and Žalgiris Arena has had the highest average attendance in the Euroleague in 2011-12, 2012-13, 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20, 2020-21.

History

The construction of the arena started in September 2008; the main contractor of the arena is Lithuanian construction company ''Vėtrūna'', chief architect – Eugenijus Miliūnas. The total cost of the arena is estimated to be 168.8 M

litas The Lithuanian litas (ISO currency code LTL, symbolized as Lt; plural ''litai'' (nominative) or ''litų'' (genitive) was the currency of Lithuania, until 1 January 2015, when it was replaced by the euro. It was divided into 100 centų (genit ...

(50 million

euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...

s). The arena was opened on 18 August 2011 with a basketball match between

and

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. The Žalgiris Arena has held the playoffs and finals of the 37th European Basketball Championship (

EuroBasket 2011 EuroBasket 2011 was the 37th men's EuroBasket, European Basketball Championship, held by FIBA Europe. The competition was hosted by Lithuania. This was the second time EuroBasket had been held in Lithuania, the country having also hosted t ...

), which took place in September 2011. On 2015 December 5 Lithuanian group SEL sets new attendance record of arena - 20,517 spectators with 360 stage concert. On 2016 January 6, EuroLeague clubs general managers voted Žalgiris Arena as the tournament's best arena. The venue will host some matches of the

2021 FIFA Futsal World Cup The 2021 FIFA Futsal World Cup was the ninth edition of the FIFA Futsal World Cup, the quadrennial international futsal championship contested by the men's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament was held in Lithuania. ...

, including the opening match and the final.

Arena information

The Žalgiris Arena is the largest in the Baltic states and covers . It holds 20,000 spectators for

concert A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variety a ...

s . It is situated in the eastern part of the Nemunas river island and its shape has nine corners. The arena's facade is made of high-end and highly transparent glass. A part of the facade has a unique metal wall, which is already naturally encrusted with rust. It is equipped with some unique technical solutions, such as power windows and modern ice-making installation. Advanced audio equipment (amplifiers, digital mixing engines and stage boxes) by

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is installed in the Žalgiris Arena. The arena has 48 VIP suites, 21 suites for the Žalgiris basketball club and media, 9 suites for a single rent, an exhibition hall, and a fitness center. There are 8 halls in the Arena where more than 150 various events take place annually.

Major events

Since its opening in 2011, Žalgiris Arena hosted many concerts. The main stars, who held concerts in Kaunas were:

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Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

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Katie Melua Ketevan Katie Melua (; ka, ქეთევან "ქეთი" მელუა, ; born 16 September 1984) is a Georgian and British singer and songwriter. She was born in Kutaisi and raised in Belfast and London. Under the management of comp ...

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Hurts Hurts are an English musical duo formed in Manchester in 2009, consisting of singer Theo Hutchcraft and multi-instrumentalist Adam Anderson. They have released five studio albums: ''Happiness'' (2010), ''Exile'' (2013), ''Surrender'' (2015), ' ...

Jean Michel Jarre Jean-Michel André Jarre (; born 24 August 1948) is a French composer, performer and record producer. He is a pioneer in the electronic, ambient and new-age genres, and is known for organising outdoor spectacles featuring his music, accompanie ...

Zucchero Adelmo Fornaciari (; born 25 September 1955), more commonly known by his stage name Zucchero Fornaciari or simply Zucchero (), is an Italian singer, musician and songwriter. His stage name is the Italian word for "sugar", as his elementary teach ...

Sarah Brightman Sarah Brightman (born 14 August 1960) is an English classical crossover soprano singer, actress and dancer. Brightman began her career as a member of the dance troupe Hot Gossip and released several disco singles as a solo performer. In 1981, ...

Kylie Minogue Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. She is the highest-selling female Australian artist of all time, having sold over 80 million records worldwide. She has been recognised for reinve ...

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,. On May 5, 2017, Canadian pop star

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re-announced that she will be performing at the venue on October 24, 2017, instead of performing on October 13, 2017, On April 18, 2017,

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

played at the venue on November 17, 2017, as a part of the Queen + Adam Lambert Tour. On 11 March 2018, it hosted the final of the Eurovizija 2018.

Motocross World Championship FIM Motocross World Championship is the premier championship of motocross racing, organized by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM), divided into two distinct classes: MXGP and MX2. Race duration is 30 minutes plus two laps per ...

event Night of the Jumps also took place in Žalgiris Arena on March, 2013. This event was part of Night of the Jumps world tour.

EuroLeague attendance

This is a list of EuroLeague games attendance of Žalgiris at Žalgiris Arena.

References

External links

* *
Construction progress
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zalgiris Arena Indoor arenas in Lithuania Basketball venues in Lithuania Landmarks in Kaunas Sport in Kaunas Buildings and structures in Kaunas 2021 FIFA Futsal World Cup venues 2011 establishments in Lithuania Sports venues completed in 2011