24-511: The Antwerps Sportpaleis (English: Antwerp's Sport Palace ), also called Sportpaleis Antwerpen , Sportpaleis Merksem or simply the Sportpaleis , is an arena in Antwerp , Belgium . It is a multipurpose hall used for organizing concerts, sporting events, festivals, and fairs. The arena was built for sport, especially track cycling, but there is now little sport there, an exception being
48-574: A location, often with the specific intent of comparing an idea to a sporting event. Such examples of these would be terms such as "the arena of war", "the arena of love" or "the political arena". Belgian Basketball League The Pro Basketball League ( PBL ), was the highest tier level professional basketball league in Belgium for clubs . In 2021, the league was succeeded by the Belgian-Dutch BNXT League . The league
72-476: Is also the sport of indoor American football (one variant of which is explicitly known as arena football), a variant of the outdoor game that is designed for the usual smaller playing surface of most arenas; variants of other traditionally outdoor sports, including box lacrosse as well as futsal and indoor soccer , also exist. The term "arena" is also used loosely to refer to any event or type of event which either literally or metaphorically takes place in such
96-429: Is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators, and may be covered by a roof. The key feature of an arena is that the event space is the lowest point, allowing maximum visibility. Arenas are usually designed to accommodate a multitude of spectators. The word derives from Latin harena , a particularly fine-grained sand that covered the floor of ancient arenas such as
120-546: Is organized by the Basketball League Belgium . The current president of the league is Maarten Bostyn. The most successful team in the league is Oostende , which holds the record for the most league titles won, with 22, and the now defunct team of Racing Mechelen is second, with 15. On 15 March 2020, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic the season was prematurely cancelled. Based on the standings in
144-718: The Antwerp Giants beat the attendance record for a basketball game in Belgium. The Belgian Basketball League team's 88–83 win over Spirou Charleroi was attended by 17,135 spectators. In May 2019, the Final Four of the Basketball Champions League was hosted at the Sportpaleis, with Antwerp Giants being one of the playing teams. In May 2022, The Major for Counter-Strike Global Offensive
168-628: The Colosseum in Rome , Italy, to absorb blood. The term arena is sometimes used as a synonym for a very large venue such as Pasadena's Rose Bowl , but such a facility is typically called a stadium . The use of one term over the other has mostly to do with the type of event. Football (be it association , rugby , gridiron , Australian rules , or Gaelic ) is typically played in a stadium, while basketball , volleyball , handball , and ice hockey are typically played in an arena, although many of
192-603: The Diamond Games tennis. According to Billboard Magazine , for the period 2007/8 Sportpaleis was the second most visited event hall in the world, second only to Madison Square Garden . The Sportpaleis is known for performances by both Dutch-speaking and international artists. It also hosts the Nekka-Nacht , the Proximus Diamond Games tennis tournament for women and Pop Poll De Luxe, organised by
216-770: The Burgemeester Gabriel Theunisbrug, going north over the Albert Canal . In its immediate proximity also lies the Deurne highway ramp of the R1 ring road , as well as the Singel urban ring road. Also, nearby lie three car parks operated by the Sportpaleis, and two more car parks, of a nearby Gamma shop and the Antwerp slaughterhouse, which are also available when large events are held. Even so, traffic near
240-529: The Playoffs are played by eight teams. The quarterfinals consist of best-of-three series and the semi- and finals are played in a best-of-five format. Teams that play in the BLB all have to get a license to play in the league. There are three types of licenses: Since 2005, play-offs are played to decide which team is crowned the champion of each season. The finals series are played in a best-of-five format, with
264-462: The Sportpaleis as part of her The Beyoncé Experience Tour on 19 May 2007. She returned on 7 May 2009 for her I Am... World Tour and on 14 and 15 May 2013, as part of The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour , where she sold 33,000 tickets in just an hour. The first show on 14 May 2013 was cancelled three hours before the show and rescheduled to 31 May 2013. She subsequently beat her own record by selling 40,000 tickets in under one hour for two 2014 concerts at
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#1732786932820288-409: The Sportpaleis can get extremely dense when such events are held, leading to large traffic jams and causing a nuisance with the inhabitants of the neighbourhood. The Sportpaleis is also well connected to the Antwerp public transport system. Underground, next to the Sportpaleis, lies Sport premetro station, which is serviced by tram routes 2 , 3 and 6 , running between either Luchtbal or Merksem to
312-614: The Sportpaleis was the second most visited event hall in the world between November 2007 and November 2008, with 1,239,436 visitors. Only Madison Square Garden in New York had more. The arena can hold 23,001 people (including standing) after re-development which took place from 2011 to 2013. The Sportpaleis lies at the R. Grégoirplein square at the crossing of two large traffic axes, the Bisschoppenhoflaan/Schijnpoortweg, having an east–west orientation, and
336-544: The Sportpaleis. Janet Jackson was scheduled to perform during her All for You Tour on 29 November 2001, but the show was cancelled along with the rest of her European tour because of possible terrorist threats. The same happened on her 2016 Unbreakable World Tour , but because of scheduling conflicts. In 2010, the arena's roof was replaced, and during 2011–2013 a €20 million re-development took place, increasing its total capacity from 18,400 to 23,001 (including standing). American R&B singer Beyoncé performed at
360-716: The Stone Age , Rage Against the Machine , Rammstein , Rihanna , Robbie Williams , The Rolling Stones , Roy Orbison , Sade , Santana , Samson en Gert , Scorpions , Shakira , Simply Red , Spice Girls , Sting , Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel (the largest venue the band has ever played), Supertramp , Tiësto , Tina Turner , U2 , Whitney Houston , Within Temptation and Hans Zimmer . notes notes notes notes notes notes notes notes notes notes notes notes notes June Billboard Magazine said
384-856: The arena started on 11 January 1932. It lasted 21 months and was completed on 11 September 1933, becoming the largest indoor arena in Europe. The Sportpaleis was built by the Apostel-Mampaey family from Boom. They were internationally renowned velodrome builders from 1907 until the Second World War. The velodrome builders of Boom were very much in demand. They built tracks in Gentbrugge (1911), Wilrijk 'Garden City' (1916), Nice and Marseille (1920), Ostend (1921-1946), Brussel-Heizel (1932) and Oudenaarde (1933). The famous 'Kuipke' in Ghent (1922) and
408-426: The even more famous Sportpaleis in Deurne (1933). In 2008, a book "De velodroombouwers Apostel-Mampaey" was published. On 29 September 1956, road cycling world champion Stan Ockers died a few days after a crash in his 116th performance at the track. The UCI Track Cycling World Championships were held at the Sportpaleis in 1969 and 2001 . On 19 November 1988, Roy Orbison gave his last European performance at
432-588: The larger arenas hold more spectators than do the stadiums of smaller colleges or high schools. There are exceptions. The home of the Duke University men's and women's basketball teams would qualify as an arena, but the facility is called Cameron Indoor Stadium . Domed stadiums, which, like arenas, are enclosed but have the larger playing surfaces and seating capacities found in stadiums, are generally not referred to as arenas in North America. There
456-493: The magazine HUMO . The main building is 132 by 88 metres (433 by 289 ft) and has a roof spanning 11,600 square metres (125,000 sq ft). The arena is elliptical and has two floors. Until renovations in 2011, there was a 250-metre-long (270 yd) wooden cycling track under the stands. Next to the Sportpaleis is its sister venue, the Lotto Arena , a hall that can accommodate 8,000 spectators. Construction of
480-476: The north and the city centre and the western or southern parts of the city in the other direction, via the Antwerp premetro network. Above ground also lies the terminus of tram route 12 , following an above-ground trajectory toward the city centre and Zuid neighbourhood to the south. In addition to these, tram route 5 also has a stop called "Sportpaleis" near the premetro exit at the Ten Eekhovelei to
504-479: The regular season, Filou Oostende was crowned national champions. The BLB is played by the international FIBA rules . Since 2014–15 the BLB season has a new format. In the regular season, all teams play each other first home and away. After that first round the league is divided in two groups based on standings; in the first group teams ranked 1–6 play and in the second 7–11. After the split each team plays all others in its group once home and once away. After that
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#1732786932820528-445: The south of the complex. The route runs between Deurne and Wijnegem to the east and the city centre and Linkeroever to the west. Finally, it is also serviced by bus lines 19 and 413. [REDACTED] Media related to Sportpaleis (Antwerp) at Wikimedia Commons Arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre , musical performances , and/or sporting events . It
552-493: The venue. Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation celebrated their 15th anniversary with a special show entitled "Elements" at the Sportpaleis. They were accompanied by the renowned Il Novecentro Orchestra and some special guests. The concert was held on 13 November 2012 and was sold out. Part of the concert was later released in the live album Let Us Burn – Elements & Hydra Live in Concert . On 31 January 2015,
576-1417: Was hosted, featuring the world's best teams for one of the biggest esports events marking the first eSports event to be held in the arena. Many world music stars have performed in this venue, including: 2 Unlimited , AC/DC , Adele , The Alan Parsons Project , Alice Cooper , Alicia Keys , Anastacia , André Rieu , Ariana Grande , Bastille , Beyoncé Knowles , The Black Eyed Peas , Bob Dylan , Bon Jovi , Boy George , Britney Spears , Bruce Springsteen , Bruno Mars , Bryan Adams , Celine Dion , Christina Aguilera , Coldplay , Deep Purple , Depeche Mode , Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike , Dua Lipa , The Eagles , Ellie Goulding , Eric Clapton , Faithless , Fleetwood Mac , Gotye , Green Day , Guns N' Roses , Gwen Stefani , Il Divo , Iron Maiden , Janet Jackson , Jean-Michel Jarre , Jennifer Lopez , John Fogerty , Jonas Brothers , Justin Bieber , Kanye West , K3 , Katy Perry , Kings of Leon , Kylie Minogue , Lady Gaga , Lana Del Rey , Lenny Kravitz , Leonard Cohen , Lionel Richie , Madonna , Mark Knopfler , Massive Attack , Metallica , Michael Bublé , Mika , Milk Inc. , Miley Cyrus , Muse , Neil Diamond , Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds , One Direction , Ozzy Osbourne , Paul McCartney , Pink Floyd , Pink , Placebo , Prince , Queen + Adam Lambert , Queen + Paul Rodgers , Queens of
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