Drive in Arena
 | |
| Location | Tel Aviv, Israel |
|---|---|
| Public transit | Tel Aviv University Station (Israel Railways) |
| Owner | City of Tel Aviv |
| Operator | City of Tel Aviv |
| Capacity | 3,420 |
| Surface | Parquet |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | March 2013 |
| Opened | November 2014 |
| Construction cost |
NIS 92 million EUR € 20 million |
| Tenants | |
| Hapoel Tel Aviv | |
The Drive In Arena (Hebrew: היכל דרייב אין), officially named Shlomo Group Arena (Hebrew: היכל קבוצת שלמה)due to commercial sponsorship, is a multi-purpose hall in the northern part of Tel Aviv. Built on the grounds of what was once Israel's only Drive-in theater and opened in November 2014, it is used primarily as the home arena for the basketball team Hapoel Tel Aviv.
Features
The building has an area about of 6,600 square metres (71,000 sq ft) and is accessible for the disabled. The hall has 3,400 seats, 300 of which are collapsible to allow the facility to host volleyball and handball games.
The hall also accommodates concerts and conferences. It features red and white chairs and blue plaid pattern. Besides the hall of the building, there are four dressing rooms, a gym, a dressing room for officials, press rooms, a VIP lounge and an entryway with glass fronts.
Background
In July 2007, the mayor of Tel Aviv decided to demolish the arena of Hapoel Tel Aviv basketball team. Despite fans' protest and struggle to save it, the Ussishkin arena was eventually demolished.
Hapoel fell apart, and was re-established by its fans and was in the lowest league, playing in the replacement arena. When Hapoel returned to the first league, the mayor decided to build a new arena, so that Hapoel would not have to travel every year. Increased excitement among fans, and on January 4, 2015, Hapoel played for the first time in its new arena against Hapoel Jerusalem B.C. and won 81-67.