Saitama Super Arena
 | |
| Location | Saitama Shintoshin, Chūō-ku, Saitama, Saitama, Japan |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 35°53′41.60″N 139°37′51.00″E / 35.8948889°N 139.6308333°ECoordinates: 35°53′41.60″N 139°37′51.00″E / 35.8948889°N 139.6308333°E |
| Owner | Saitama Arena Corp. |
| Capacity | 36,500 |
| Construction | |
| Opened | September 1, 2000 |
| Construction cost |
YEN ¥ 20 billion USD $ 195 million EUR € 142 million |
| Architect | Ellerbe Becket[1] |
Saitama Super Arena (さいたまスーパーアリーナ Saitama Sūpā Arīna) is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Chūō-ku, Saitama City, Saitama, Japan. Its spectator capacity is 36,500 at maximum settings, making it the second largest indoor arena in the world. This main arena capacity is between 19,000 and 22,500 when events such as basketball, volleyball, tennis, ice hockey, gymnastics, boxing, mixed martial arts, and professional wrestling take place there. It is also the only Japanese arena equipped especially for American football. The arena features a gigantic moveable section of seating which can reduce capacity for smaller events and create a more intimate setting.
It formerly housed the John Lennon Museum, which displayed John Lennon memorabilia and closed in 2010.
It is one of two home arenas to Japan Professional Basketball League team the Saitama Broncos.
It is a favorite venue for puroresu (Japanese professional wrestling) and mixed martial arts (MMA), and has hosted many of the biggest fights in MMA history.
Access
- Immediate to JR East Keihin-Tōhoku|Utsunomiya|Takasaki Line Saitama-Shintoshin Station
- 7 minutes' walk from JR East Saikyō Line Kita-Yono Station
History[2]
Event hosting
Sport and Martial arts
The Saitama Super Arena was preliminary open on May 5, 2000, and officially open on September 1 of the same year. The architecture firm Nikken Sekkei won the international design competition.
In 2000, the arena hosted two NHL ice hockey games between the Nashville Predators and the Pittsburgh Penguins. In 2003, NBA basketball teams Seattle SuperSonics and the Los Angeles Clippers, played two games. On February 7, 2005 the arena hosted WWE Raw for United States cable television network Spike TV. The main event of the Raw hour was Ric Flair vs. Shawn Michaels, and the main event of the Raw Zone hour featured Triple H against Edge for the World Heavyweight Championship. In 2006, the arena hosted the Final Round of the Basketball World Championship 2006.
On December 31, 2007 the arena hosted Yarennoka, an MMA promotion organized by the former staff members of Pride Fighting Championship. On November 29, 2009 the arena hosted one of the biggest fights in Japan's history as WBC Flyweight Champion Daisuke Naito defends his title against Koki Kameda. On December 31, 2009 the arena hosted "FieLDS Dynamite!! The Power of Courage 2009" which was hosted by MMA promotions Dream and Sengoku along with kickboxing promotion K–1. On December 31, 2010 the arena hosted "FieLDS Dynamite!! ~ Power of Courage 2010" which was hosted by fight promotions DREAM and K–1. The arena hosted the Japanese return of the Ultimate Fighting Championship on February 26, 2012 for UFC 144. Followed by UFC on Fuel TV: Silva vs. Stann on March 3, 2013 and UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Nelson on September 20, 2014 as well as UFC Fight Night: Barnett vs. Nelson on September 26, 2015. It will host Basketball competitions at 2020 Summer Olympics hosted by Tokyo.
On March 24–30, 2014, 2014 World Figure Skating Championships.
Music
Besides sport and martial arts competition, there were held many music events, like Music Station, Hey! Hey! Hey! Music Champ, Animelo Summer Live, or humanitary Dream Power concerts organized by Yoko Ono.[3] Many notable Japanese music acts performed at the arena, alphabetically: AKB48, Namie Amuro, B'z, Babymetal, Minori Chihara, Masaharu Fukuyama, Gackt, Glay, Ayumi Hamasaki, Tomoyasu Hotei, The Gazette, Janne Da Arc, The Kamen Joshi, Berryz Kobo, Mai Kuraki, L'Arc-en-Ciel, Luna Sea, Nana Mizuki, Man with a Mission, Momoiro Clover Z, Morning Musume, Mr. Children, Nightmare, Kana Nishino, One Ok Rock, Pierrot, Shiina Ringo, Siam Shade, Sid, Spyair, Sound Horizon, Hikaru Utada, and Vamps.
Some Japanese anime projects like Uta no Prince-sama, Love Live!, K-On!, and The Idolmaster saw live musical realization in the arena.
International artists also performed there, like Madonna, Janet Jackson, Beyoncé, Mariah Carey, Ariana Grande, Coldplay, Lady Gaga, Avril Lavigne, Backstreet Boys, Muse, DragonForce, Metallica, Radiohead, AC/DC, Jeff Mills, Taylor Swift, U2, Iron Maiden, One Direction, and K-Pop acts BoA, TVXQ, Super Junior, SS501, Kara, Girls' Generation, Apink, Big Bang, 2PM, EXID, F.T. Island, 2NE1, BTS, Shinee, CNBLUE, and Exo.
Queen + Paul Rodgers performed there and the concerts were depicted in the concert DVD Super Live in Japan. Green Day taped the show for their new live album titled Awesome as Fuck. The Coverdale's band Whitesnake during the Loud Park Festival recorded their performance for a live album Made in Japan.
Gallery
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See also
- Arena 92, a venue under construction near Paris similar in concept to the Super Arena
References
- ↑ Saitama Super Arena architect Ellerbe Becket
- ↑
- ja:さいたまスーパーアリーナ as of 2007-07-04T07:48:17
- ↑ "Dream Power Super Live events history". Dream Power (in Japanese). Retrieved 2014-10-04.
External links
| Preceded by Conseco Fieldhouse Indianapolis |
FIBA Basketball World Cup Final Venue 2006 |
Succeeded by Sinan Erdem Dome Istanbul |
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