The Ondrej Nepela Arena (Slovak: Zimný Štadión Ondreja Nepelu) (also known as Orange Arena during the 2011 IIHF Championship and later as Tipos Aréna, previously Slovnaft Arena, for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena in Bratislava, Slovakia. It is primarily used for ice hockey and it is the home arena of the HC Slovan Bratislava.

History

Ice rink and original arena

The, now indoor, arena in 1959; a roof was added in 1957
The old arena in August 2007, before reconstruction

The arena was first opened on 15 December 1940 as the first public artificial ice rink in Bratislava. The first official ice hockey game was played on 21 December of the same year. Between 1948 and 1949, new tribunes were built in order to increase the standing capacity from around 300 to 11,000. In 1957 the open-air venue was covered with a steel structure that required supporting columns, and 4,800 temporary seats were installed with the standing capacity reduced to 7,000.

Another significant renovation took place between 1989 and 1992, in time for hosting the 1992 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships, and following this the arena now had a total of 7,747 seats until its full reconstruction started in early 2009. This time the interior was changed significantly (new seats, locker rooms and technical equipment) and the arena received a new reinforced concrete roof.

Since 29 September 1995 the arena is named in honour of Ondrej Nepela, a Slovak figure skater who competed for Czechoslovakia in the late 1960s and early 1970s and who was the Men's figure skating champion at the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo, Japan.

New modern arena

The new arena and practice rinks under construction (January 2011)

In the period from April 2009 to February 2011, the venue was almost entirely rebuilt and upgraded, in line with IIHF, Slovak, and international specifications and largely funded by the Slovak government, as part of preparations for hosting the 2011 IIHF World Championships. More than €87 million was spent to install a new steel roof, modernize facilities, build two new adjacent practice arenas, an underground car park and increase the seating capacity from 8,350 to 10,000. During the reconstruction phase, 80% of the original building was demolished and the resident ice hockey club HC Slovan Bratislava moved to the Vladimír Dzurilla Ice Stadium in the Ružinov borough of Bratislava.

The reconstructed arena opened in April 2011, with one of the most advanced game presentations, LED scoreboards, and security systems ever built. In addition to the arena, a new DoubleTree by Hilton hotel was built, which mainly served as the accommodation for the foreign teams and staff during the championships. Further improvements to the arena's facilities were carried out in 2018 to improve its ability to host the 2019 IIHF World Championship. The work included an upgraded refrigeration system, a refurbished ice rink with new boards and plexiglas, improved team dressing rooms and other areas, and technical upgrades.

Notable events

Sport

An NHL pre-season game was held at the Samsung Arena between HC Slovan Bratislava and the Tampa Bay Lightning on September 30, 2008. Tampa Bay won 3–2 in overtime. On October 2, 2011, the arena hosted another NHL pre-season game, this time between HC Slovan Bratislava and New York Rangers who beat the home team 4–1.

An overview of some sport events held in the arena:

1990s

2000s

2010s

2020s

Music

An overview of some musical events from 2011 onwards
DateArtistsEvents
2011
June 29StingSymphonicity Tour
November 6RammsteinMade in Germany 1995–2011 (tour)
November 13SadeSade Live Tour
2012
July 10Elton JohnGreatest Hits Tour (Elton John)
December 20José CarrerasThe Singles Tour
2013
April 19BeyoncéThe Mrs. Carter Show World Tour
May 9Eros RamazzottiNoi World Tour
December 29Andrea Bocelli
2014
February 6Depeche ModeDelta Machine Tour
May 5Peter GabrielBack To Front Tour
October 19Kylie MinogueKiss Me Once Tour
2015
February 2Ennio MorriconeMy Life in Music Tour 2015
February 27Katy PerryPrismatic World Tour
April 18Robbie WilliamsLet Me Entertain You Tour
2016
January 19Ennio Morricone60 Years of Music Tour 2016
March 15Eros RamazzottiPerfetto Tour
May 5Hans Zimmer
May 27André Rieu
November 9Jean Michel JarreElectronica Tour
November 26Piotr Rubik
December 16José Carreras
2017
May 11Vanessa Mae
June 2Hans Zimmer
November 19Andrea Bocelli
2018
January 13Piotr Rubik
August 31Thirty Seconds to MarsMonolith Tour
2019
June 30StingSting: My Songs Tour
October 5Eros RamazzottiVita Ce N'è Tour
October 31Enrique IglesiasAll The Hits Live (Enrique Iglesias)
November 20ScorpionsCrazy World Tour
2020
February 16Hans ZimmerThe World of Hans Zimmer
February 26MalumaMaluma World Tour
2021
November 18André Rieu
2022
March 3Hans Zimmer
May 7OneRepublic
August 3SlipknotWe Are Not Your Kind

Transport

Ondrej Nepela Arena is located in the third district of Bratislava, Slovakia. The arena can be approached by tram, trolleybus and bus.

ServiceStopLineWalking distance from arena
TramČeská4250 m
BusN53, X4
TrolleybusZimný štadión47, 60, 6120 m
Bus39, 53, 63, 78, 163, N74

Drivers can park directly under the arena. There are place for 365 cars. An additional 1,300 parking spaces offer the Central Shopping Center, which is approximately 400 m away from the arena. Next 994 parking spaces are under the Tehelné pole, which is 300 m away.

Image gallery

  • 2008 IIHF Inline Hockey World Championship
  • The main entrance after reconstruction in June 2011
  • 2011 Ball Hockey World Championship
  • Exterior during the 2019 IIHF World Championship
  • 2016 European Figure Skating Championships

See also

External links

Media related to Ondrej Nepela Arena at Wikimedia Commons