Pick Arena, a new multifunctional sports hall in the city of Szeged, in southern Hungary, was inaugurated on Thursday.
The facility will be one of three Hungarian venues of the European men’s handball championships to be held in Hungary and Slovakia in January.
Gergely Gulyás, the prime minister’s chief of staff, noted that Hungary had won the right to host the championship in the summer of 2018, so it took just two and a half years for the Hungarian construction industry to complete the project.
Máté Kocsis, head of the Hungarian Handball Federation, noted that Pick Arena is Hungary’s third biggest sports hall. In addition to competitions, it will accommodate concerts and other cultural events, he said.
As for the handball European championships, the facility will be the venue of the group C round-robin tournament of Croatia, France, Ukraine and Serbia from January 13 to 17.
Mayor László Botka said the men’s team of Pick Szeged, a regular participant in the Champions League for several years, attracts capacity crowds in almost all matches.
Pick Arena occupies a total area of over 28,000sqm and has 8,143 seats for spectators.
The first match, played as part of the Champions’ League, will feature Pick-Szeged and Germany’s THW Kiel tonight.
Featured photo by Sándor Ujvári/MTI