Spodek (meaning "saucer" in

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

) is a multipurpose

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 ...

complex in Katowice,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

, opened on 9 May 1971. Aside from the main dome, the complex includes a gym, an ice rink, a hotel and three large car parks. It was the largest indoor venue of its kind in Poland until it was surpassed by

Tauron Arena Tauron may refer to: *Tauron Group, Polish energy group *Tauron, combat robot from ''series 9 and 10 of UK Robot Wars'' *One of the Twelve Colonies ''Battlestar Galactica'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Glen A. Lar ...

in 2014. The Spodek hosts many important cultural and business events. Music

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 variet ...

s are especially common non-sport events. It can hold around 11,500 people, although this number is in practice limited to 10,000 or even 8,000 due to stage set-ups obscuring the view. Its Polish name refers to a

flying saucer A flying saucer (also referred to as "a flying disc") is a descriptive term for a type of flying craft having a disc or saucer-shaped body, commonly used generically to refer to an anomalous flying object. The term was coined in 1947 but has g ...

since its iconic shape resembles a

UFO An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are id ...

. Spodek is a major contribution to the cultural significance of Katowice in Poland, especially for the younger generations. It has also been used as an unofficial logo for the city on posters promoting redevelopment in Katowice. Moreover, Spodek is home to ice hockey clubs in the winter months.

History

The idea of building a large venue originated in 1955, while Katowice was temporarily renamed Stalinogród. A contest was held to select the best design. Initially, it was to be constructed on the outskirts of town, but the Voivodeship National Council decided it should be built near the city center. A

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic ...

waste dump site classified "2A" was chosen for construction. The classification "2A" indicated medium mining damage with a possibility of local cave-ins. While excavating the foundations, the workers dug through coal instead of soil. Soon after construction began, rumors of design flaws in the new building spread, including the rumour that the dome would collapse when the scaffolding was removed. Because of this, in 1964, construction was halted for 18 months. Spodek's architects and chief engineers were present in the dome when the supports were dismantled as a statement against those rumors. Before opening the building to the public, as an endurance test, 3,500 soldiers marched throughout the hall; the vibration measurement was positive.

Technology

Architects Maciej Gintowt and Maciej Krasiński designed the Spodek to employ the principle of

tensegrity Tensegrity, tensional integrity or floating compression is a structural principle based on a system of isolated components under compression inside a network of continuous tension, and arranged in such a way that the compressed members (usua ...

, as one of the first major structures to do so. For the roof they used an inclined surface held in check by a system of

cable Cable may refer to: Mechanical * Nautical cable, an assembly of three or more ropes woven against the weave of the ropes, rendering it virtually waterproof * Wire rope, a type of rope that consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a hel ...

s holding up its

circumference In geometry, the circumference (from Latin ''circumferens'', meaning "carrying around") is the perimeter of a circle or ellipse. That is, the circumference would be the arc length of the circle, as if it were opened up and straightened out t ...

. The structural engineer who conceived the unique tensegrity roof and made it work was

Wacław Zalewski Wacław Piotr Zalewski (25 August 1917 – 29 December 2016) was a Polish construction engineer and designer, creator of innovative buildings such as "Spodek" in Katowice, " Supersam" in Warsaw from the roof of the structure funikularnej, or tra ...

. His innovative structures included Supersam, a supermarket in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

with a roof made up of alternating arches and cables, many unique industrial roofs in Poland, two basketball arenas in

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

with hanging roofs, the structure of the National Museum of Art in Caracas, the Venezuelan Pavilion at the

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

Expo An expo is a trade exposition. It may also refer to: Events and venues * World's fair, a large international public exposition * Singapore Expo, convention and exposition venue ** Expo Axis, one of the world's largest membrane roofs, constructe ...

in 1992, and several bridges and roofs in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

Hosted events

Electronic Sports League The ESL Gaming GmbH, doing business as ESL (formerly known as Electronic Sports League), is a German esports organizer and production company that produces video game competitions worldwide. ESL was the world's largest esports company in 2015, ...

tournaments, including the Intel Extreme Masters World Championships beginning in 2014:

EMS One Katowice 2014 Electronic Sports League Major Series One Katowice 2014, also known as EMS One Katowice 2014, was the second '' Counter-Strike: Global Offensive'' Major Championship. The tournament was held from March 13–16, 2014 at the Spodek Arena in Kato ...

ESL One Katowice 2015 ESL One Katowice 2015, also known as Katowice 2015, was the fifth '' Counter-Strike: Global Offensive'' Major Championship, held from March 12 to March 15, 2015 at the Spodek Arena in Katowice, Poland. It was the first ''CS:GO'' Major of 2015. ...

, IEM Season IX - Katowice, IEM Season X - Katowice, IEM Katowice 2017, IEM Katowice 2018,

IEM Katowice 2019 The Intel Extreme Masters Season XIII – Katowice Major 2019, also known as IEM Katowice Major 2019 or Katowice 2019, was the fourteenth '' Counter-Strike: Global Offensive'' Major Championship and the world championship for the thirteenth sea ...

, IEM Katowice 2022 *

Blaze Bayley Blaze Bayley (born Bayley Alexander Cooke, 29 May 1963) is an English heavy metal singer. He was the lead singer of Wolfsbane from 1984 to 1994 (and currently since 2010, following reunions in 2007 and 2009). He was also the lead singer of Ir ...

(of

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...

and Wolfsbane) recorded his Alive in Poland DVD at Spodek in 2007 * Deep Purple recorded their Live Encounters DVD at Spodek in 1996 * Pearl Jam recorded their '' 6/16/00 - Katowice, Poland'' album at Spodek *

Smashing Pumpkins Smash may refer to: People * Smash (wrestler) (born 1959), professional wrestler * Moondog Rex, another professional wrestler who briefly wrestled as the original Smash, before being replaced by the above. * DJ Smash, DJ and music producer Ar ...

cover photo (inside) for the album '' Adore'' was taken in Katowice after a concert in Spodek *The band

Hey Hey or Hey! may refer to: Music * Hey (band), a Polish rock band Albums * ''Hey'' (Andreas Bourani album) or the title song (see below), 2014 * ''Hey!'' (Julio Iglesias album) or the title song, 1980 * ''Hey!'' (Jullie album) or the title s ...

recorded their 1994 ''Hey Live!'' album at Spodek. *The arena held the final rounds of the

EuroBasket 2009 The 2009 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 2009, was the 36th FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe. The tournament, which was hosted by Poland, began on 7 September and concluded with the ...

.Kibice wywalczyli nam polskie mecze
, 15 January 2007 *FIVB Volleyball World League Final Round 2001 & 2007 *EuroBasket Women 2011 *

Intel Extreme Masters The Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) is a series of international esports tournaments held in countries around the world. These Electronic Sports League (ESL) sanctioned events, sponsored by Intel, currently host events in '' Counter-Strike: Global ...

World Championship 2014 * 2014 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship * Intel Extreme Masters World Championship 2015 *

2016 European Men's Handball Championship The 2016 EHF European Men's Handball Championship was the twelfth edition and was held for the first time in Poland from 15–31 January 2016. Croatia and Norway were the other applicants in the bidding process. Poland was awarded the championsh ...

* Intel Extreme Masters World Championship 2016 *

2016 IIHF World Championship Division I The 2016 IIHF World Championship Division I was an international ice hockey tournament run by the International Ice Hockey Federation. Group A was contested in Katowice, Poland, on 23–29 April 2016 and Group B in Zagreb, Croatia, on 17–23 Apri ...

A *

World Championship 2017 *The WTA Tour BNP Paribas Katowice Open, a professional women's tennis tournament, was held at Spodek between 2013–2016 * Intel Extreme Masters World Championship 2018 * Intel Extreme Masters World Championship 2019 CS:GO Major *

2019 BWF World Senior Championships The 2019 BWF World Senior Championships, officially YONEX BWF World Senior Badminton Championships Katowice 2019, was a badminton tournament which was held from 4 to 11 August 2019 at Spodek in Katowice, Poland. Participants Medal summary ...

*Intel Extreme Masters World Championship 2020 *

2022 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship The 2022 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship was the 20th staging of the FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship, contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' (FIVB), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ...

* 2023 World Men's Handball Championship

Gallery

File:IEM WC Katowice 2015 inside.jpg, Spodek's interior during

Katowice, 2015 File:Katowice 05.15 Spodek.JPG, Front view File:Spodek.4.jpg, Night illumination of the

façade A façade () (also written facade) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loan word from the French (), which means ' frontage' or ' face'. In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important aspect ...

File:Spodek w Katowicach z lotu ptaka.jpg, Spodek and the Katowice city centre at night File:Katowice-Spodek (5).jpg, Spodek seen from Korfanty Avenue

References

External links