Kigali Arena
The Kigali Arena is an indoor arena in Kigali, Rwanda, used mostly for basketball matches. Built and finished in 2019, it hosts sporting events and concerts. It is the biggest indoor arena in East Africa and is located next to the Amahoro Stadium.[1]
| |
| Location | Kigali, Rwanda |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 1.951719°S 30.115580°E |
| Owner | Rwanda Ministry of Sports |
| Type | Indoor arena |
| Capacity | 10,000 |
| Record attendance | 10,152 |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 19 January 2019 |
| Opened | 9 August 2019 |
| Builder | Surbana Ltd. |
| Main contractors | Rwanda Housing Authority |
Construction
Construction of the Kigali Arena a joint project of the Rwandan Government through the Rwanda Housing Authority (RHA) and Turkish firm Summa started in January 2019. The construction of the indoor arena was supervised by the RHA.[2] The Kigali Arena's construction progressed at a fast rate, with around 1,000 to 2,000 people employed to work on the project both in day and night shifts. By mid-June 2019, the indoor arena was at least 70 percent complete and was set to be completed in July 2019.[3]
On 9 August 2019, the arena was inaugurated with a basketball game between Patriots BBC and REG BBC, with Rwandan President Paul Kagame in attendance.[4][5]
In 2021, Kigali Arena will host the first-ever Basketball Africa League (BAL) in Kigali.
Features
Kigali Arena is a 10,000 capacity indoor arena which is meant for indoor sports such as basketball, handball, volleyball, and tennis, as well as concerts and conferences.[2] The sports venue is situated nearby the 30,000 capacity Amahoro Stadium and the 2,500 capacity Amahoro Indoor Stadium.[3]
Events
The first sporting event to be hosted at the Kigali Arena is expected to be the 2019 FIBA Under-16 Women's African Championship.[3] It will also host AfroBasket 2021.[6]
It has hosted the finals of the 2019 Rwandan National Basketball League, selling out multiple games.[7] The arena will also host the Final Four of the inaugural season of the Basketball Africa League (BAL).[8]
References
- "10k-cap. Kigali Arena ready to open in Rwanda". 2 August 2019. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
- "Construction of modern multi-sport arena kicks-off". Rwanda Housing Authority. 17 January 2019. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
- Nsabimana, Eddie. "State-of-the-art Kigali Arena nears completion". New Times. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
- Sikubwabo, Damas (24 June 2019). "Rwanda Wins Afrobasket 2021 Bid, Beating 3 Others". All Africa. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
- "NBA's Basketball Africa League Gets One Step Closer To Reality With Announcement Of Host Cities". Forbes. Retrieved 28 September 2019.