Ondrej Nepela Arena
Alternate: Tipos aréna
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Slovan Bratislava vs HC05 Banská BystricaSun 05 Jan 2025 15:00
Established
1940 (84 years old)
Capacity
10,055
Build Cost
$108 million
Architect
Country
Slovakia
Location
Bratislava, Slovakia
Timezone
Coordinates
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Description
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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.
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.
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 Slovakian 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.
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