Indoor Arenas in Israel

Israel's indoor arenas range from large national-scale venues in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv to smaller regional halls serving professional clubs elsewhere. The selected venues covered here include basketball-centered arenas, a multipurpose hall used for several indoor sports, and an Olympic-standard cycling velodrome. Many additional basketball halls operate across the country, including smaller or older facilities that are not part of this overview.[2]

The largest established venues in the cited sources are Pais Arena in Jerusalem and Menora Mivtachim Arena in Tel Aviv. Their regular seating figures exceed 10,000, while several regional arenas hold approximately 2,500 to 5,600 spectators.[3][4]

Israel's present arena landscape was reshaped by a cluster of construction and renovation projects during the early 2010s. Haifa's Romema Arena reopened in September 2012 after a two-year renovation.[5] Be'er Sheva's Conch Arena and Jerusalem's Pais Arena opened in 2014, while Tel Aviv's Shlomo Group Arena opened in 2015.[6][7]

The projects frequently replaced or supplemented older, smaller facilities. Pais Arena replaced Jerusalem's older Malha basketball hall, while the Netanya arena inaugurated in 2024 replaced Yishurun hall as Elitzur Netanya's top-league home.[3][8] Holon's Toto Arena was also nearing completion in 2014 as part of a larger leisure and culture complex.[9]

Professional basketball is the principal recurring use of many Israeli arenas, with venues serving as home courts for clubs including Hapoel Jerusalem, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Hapoel Tel Aviv, Maccabi Haifa, Hapoel Holon, and Elitzur Netanya. Arena operators also use the buildings for concerts, cultural performances, conferences, children's events, and television productions.[4]

Some facilities accommodate additional sports. Holon's arena was designed for handball and artistic gymnastics as well as basketball, while Be'er Sheva's Conch Arena was intended for basketball, handball, volleyball, and other competitions.[9][6]

The newer arenas expanded Israel's capacity to host major domestic and international indoor events. Pais Arena meets FIBA requirements for international basketball, including EuroLeague and EuroBasket games, while Toto Arena was designed to meet FIBA and European gymnastics standards.[3][9]

Large multipurpose halls also support concerts and cultural events that cannot be accommodated in smaller sports facilities. The proposed Lod arena was presented as a response to the lack of an existing Israeli indoor venue able to host more than approximately 11,000 concertgoers.[10]

Published capacity figures do not always use the same measurement. Pais Arena is reported as having 11,600 fixed seats and a maximum capacity of 15,000 when floor seating is added.[11][3] Menora Mivtachim Arena was listed at 10,383 seats in a detailed 2017 report and described as an approximately 10,000-seat venue in 2024.[4][12] Shlomo Group Arena was reported at about 3,500 seats by ONE and approximately 3,000 by The Jerusalem Post.[7][12] These source-specific figures may reflect rounding, reporting dates, or seating arrangements, but the sources do not establish a single explanation for every difference.

Development proposals also require careful distinction from completed projects. A 2024 report said Tel Aviv was studying a possible renovation and expansion of Shlomo Group Arena but did not establish a target capacity or confirm that construction had begun.[7] Lod's proposed 20,000-seat L2 arena remained at the tender stage in September 2026.[10]

Pais Arena — also known as Jerusalem Payis Arena — is Israel's largest indoor all-purpose venue.[10] It sits in the Malha neighborhood of southern Jerusalem, adjacent to Teddy Stadium.[3][11] Construction took five years, and contemporary reports placed the cost at approximately NIS 400 million; the arena opened in 2014 as the new home of Hapoel Jerusalem's basketball team.[3][11] The building covers approximately 47,000 square meters across eight levels, with an arena floor of 2,700 square meters, 18 stands, and 16 private viewing suites.[3] Its fixed seating capacity is 11,600; when chairs are placed on the arena floor, total capacity reaches 15,000 spectators.[11][3]

The court was designed to meet FIBA standards, including those for EuroLeague and EuroBasket competitions.[3] The facility replaced the older Malha basketball hall, which had held approximately 2,400 spectators.[13] Beyond basketball, the arena is configured for concerts, conventions, cultural events, and circus performances.[3][11] An initial plan had called for only 5,600 seats with later expansion, but the final design provided 11,600 seats from the outset.[14]

Menora Mivtachim Arena, located in Tel Aviv's Yad Eliyahu neighborhood, is the city's largest indoor venue and one of the busiest in the country.[4] Its regular seating capacity is 10,383, and it operates as a multipurpose hall used for basketball, cultural events, performances, children's programming, conferences, and television productions.[4] In 2016 alone, the arena hosted 35 basketball games and 72 cultural events, among other activities.[4] It is the home venue of Maccabi Tel Aviv, historically Israel's most successful league team and a six-time EuroLeague champion; a 2024 report said Hapoel Tel Aviv might also move there and share the facility.[1][12]

Shlomo Group Arena, also in Tel Aviv, serves as the home court of Hapoel Tel Aviv and is part of the Drive-In complex.[15] The site was once home to Israel's only drive-in theater, which opened in 1973 and closed in 2000; the theater site was repurposed as a basketball arena 14 years later, and the completed arena opened in 2015.[15][7] Its area is approximately 6,600 square meters and its capacity is about 3,500 seats.[7] A 2024 report said the municipality had commissioned architects to examine the feasibility and cost of renovating and expanding the arena. Early estimates suggested that such work could take about two years, but the report did not specify a target capacity or confirm an approved construction project.[7]

Romema Arena, in southern Haifa, serves as the home court of Maccabi Haifa's basketball team and was described during the team's 2012–2013 championship season as Israel's second-largest arena.[16] After a two-year renovation costing NIS 70 million, the arena reopened in September 2012 with a capacity of 5,000.[5] The renovation included a basketball floor brought from Boston, seating from Arsenal's football ground in London, and 120 security cameras.[5] The arena was filled to capacity for Maccabi Haifa's championship-clinching game.[16]

Toto Arena in Holon is a multipurpose indoor venue serving Hapoel Holon's basketball team and accommodating sports including handball and artistic gymnastics.[9] Located in the southeastern part of the city as part of a 13,500-square-meter leisure and culture complex, it was built at a reported cost of NIS 150 million and designed to meet FIBA and European gymnastics standards.[9] A 2014 report published as construction neared completion gave its planned capacity as approximately 5,600 seats.[9]

Be'er Sheva's Conch Arena (HaKonkhiya), situated at the city's northern entrance, opened in February 2014 as a multipurpose indoor hall for basketball, handball, and volleyball.[6] Built at a cost of NIS 62 million, the venue holds approximately 3,000 spectators.[6] An earlier 2010 report had outlined plans for a 3,000-seat enclosed sports hall within a larger Beersheba Sports Complex projected to be ready in 2013, though that source did not establish whether or when the planned hall was ultimately completed.[17]

Elitzur Netanya's indoor arena was inaugurated in June 2024 near the city's football stadium, replacing the older Yishurun hall as the club's home for top-league basketball. The completed venue was reported to hold 2,500 people and to have cost approximately NIS 80 million.[8]

Beyond basketball arenas, Israel is home to the Sylvan Adams Velodrome, located near the National Sports Center.[1] Unveiled in May 2018, it was described as the first Olympic indoor cycling arena in the Middle East.[1]

Several projects remained at planning or tender stages in the mid-2020s. In September 2026, Lod's municipal economic development company issued a tender for L2, a proposed 20,000-seat venue described as a prospective "National Arena of Israel." The complex was planned for the entrance to Lod near the Ganei Aviv railway station.[10] Intended primarily for large concerts but also for sports and other events, the project was presented as a response to the shortage of Israeli indoor venues capable of hosting more than 11,000 people.[10] The venue had not been built at the time of the tender and is not an existing arena.