Minsk-Arena

(Minsk, 111 Pobediteley Ave.)

During the 2nd European Games Minsk-Arena will be hosting the Gymnastics Acrobatic, Gymnastics Aerobic, Artistic Gymnastics, Rhythmic Gymnastics and Gymnastics Trampoline events, while the Velodrome will be hosting the Track Cycling events.

The Minsk-Arena multi-purpose complex is one of Europe’s most advanced facilities of the kind. It was designed to host international sports and other entertainment events. 

Its impressive hi-tech architecture grants it a landmark status not just in Belarus but also the whole Europe.

The Minsk-Arena facility includes four venues which are the arena itself (hosting 15,000 spectators), a cycling ground (hosting 2,000 spectators), a skating stadium (3,000 spectators) and a multilevel parking structure.

The multipurpose facility is equipped with the latest technology which meets all the professional requirements. It also serves as a top-tier concert hall that is unmatched in the whole country. Both of this enables the Arena to host various international sports and entertainment events.

The hub of the facility is the 60 x 30 m hockey rink. For the first time in Belarus a modern French construction technology was used to build the Arena’s impressive cable-braced roof. The whole structure relies on four cables that are stretched across the facility with an octal media cube with 8 PDP screens in the center. It’s the heaviest in Europe and weighs 18 tons.

The lower level of the complex consists of sets of metal stairs with chairs that can be stowed away under concrete stairs to create additional space. The upper level has viewing balconies carrying 42 VIP lounges and commentators’ booths. 

The central arena is connected to the skating stadium by an underground passage. This venue is used to both host international competitions and to serve as a training area for various sports.

The Minsk-Arena complex is the home area of the Dinamo Minsk hockey club and a KHL arena. The Arena has hosted major competitions across various sports, including the European Championships in track cycling (2009) and boxing (2013), the 2012 World Junior Figure Skating Championships, the 2013 UCI Track Cycling World Championships, the 2014 IIHF World Ice Hockey Championships, the 2015 FIFA Futsal World Cup and others.

Since its opening, Minsk-Arena has hosted over a hundred shows by renowned performers like Scorpions, Sting, Elton John, Shakira, Jennifer Lopez, Depeche Mode, Joe Cocker, Thirty Seconds to Mars, Robbie Williams, Linkin Park, MayDay, Cirque du Soleil and many others (including the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2010).

Velodrome was opened on December 30, 2008. A German company that has previously built 147 cycling tracks across the world has made a substantial impact into the development of the project. The track is 250m long, 7,5m wide and has two corners with a 41-degree angle of inclination. The athletes walk out onto the track through 2 underground passages. The stands can seat 2,000 spectators. The track is for professional use only - the athletes can go as fast as 110km/h. The central area of the arena can be used for table tennis, badminton, basketball, volleyball and futsal.

2009 European and 2013 World Track Cycling Championships both took place at the venue. The latter is considered to be the most prestigious cycling competition after the Olympics. The UCI Track Cycling World Cup was held in the Arena in January 2018.

There are two gyms with modern American equipment, a choreography hall and a multi-purpose sports hall inside as well.

The Speed Skating Stadium

 is the first indoor skating rink in Belarus with a 400m track. The track is 9,5m wide. The first training session took place on December 2, 2009. There are two training hockey rinks (of European (60 x 30m) and Canadian (60 x 28m) standards) and two curling sheets inside the building. The stands can seat 3,000 spectators.

The athletes walk out onto the rink through underground passages connected with the main arena. The ice is only 4cm thick (filled according to the Canadian technology.)

The unique stadium equipment allows for the ice temperature to be adjusted at various locations so that the athletes of different sports (like figure skating, speed skating, hockey or curling) can train simultaneously.

The mountain air rooms that can be found at the facility are unparalleled in Belarus. Due to their unique therapeutic properties the rooms are extremely valuable to the athletes; they also allow the athletes to experience actual highland conditions during training sessions.

The skating stadium often becomes a training hub for athletes from Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Holland and Estonia. The ice rink is open for public skating when not used for training or sports events.

Some of the major competitions that took place at the stadium are the ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating (September 2013), the World Cup Speed Skating Championships (November 2012, December 2014), the ISU World Junior Speed Skating Championships (January 2016), the ISU World Cup Short Track (February 2017), the 2018 FISU World University Championship and others.