Editing Arena

{{Short description|Enclosed area designed to host theater, musical performances and sporting events}}
{{Other uses|Arena (disambiguation)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2022}}
[[File:Madison Square Garden, February 2013.jpg|thumb|[[Madison Square Garden]]]]

An '''arena''' is a large enclosed venue, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase [[theatre]], [[Music|musical performances]], or [[Sport|sporting events]]. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators, and may be covered by a roof. The key feature of an arena is that the event space is the lowest point, allowing maximum visibility. Arenas are usually designed to accommodate a multitude of spectators.

==Background==
[[File:Crypto.com Arena interior - Lakers 2022.jpg|thumb|Interior of [[Crypto.com Arena]]]]
The word derives from Latin ''{{Lang|la|harena}}'', a particularly fine-grained sand that covered the floor of ancient arenas such as the [[Colosseum]] in [[Rome]], Italy, to absorb blood.<ref>{{cite book| last = Claridge | first =  Amanda | year= 1998| url= https://books.google.com/books?id=RX_MPqbjOp0C&q=arena | title= Rome: An Oxford Archaeological Guide| edition= First| location= Oxford, UK| publisher= Oxford University Press| pages= 276–282| isbn= 0-19-288003-9}}.</ref>

The term ''arena'' is sometimes used as a synonym for a very large venue such as Pasadena's [[Rose Bowl stadium|Rose Bowl]], but such a facility is typically called a ''[[stadium]]''. The use of one term over the other has mostly to do with the type of event. [[Football]] (be it [[Association football|association]], [[Rugby football|rugby]], [[Gridiron football|gridiron]], [[Australian rules football|Australian rules]], or [[Gaelic football|Gaelic]]) is typically played in a stadium, while [[basketball]], [[volleyball]], [[handball]], and [[ice hockey]] are typically played in an arena, although many of the larger arenas hold more spectators than do the stadiums of smaller colleges or high schools. There are exceptions. The home of the [[Duke Blue Devils men's basketball|Duke University men's]] and [[Duke Blue Devils women's basketball|women's]] basketball teams would qualify as an arena, but the facility is called [[Cameron Indoor Stadium]]. Domed stadiums, which, like arenas, are enclosed but have the larger playing surfaces and seating capacities found in stadiums, are generally not referred to as arenas in North America. There is also the sport of [[indoor American football]] (one variant of which is explicitly known as arena football), a variant of the outdoor game that is designed for the usual smaller playing surface of most arenas; variants of other traditionally outdoor sports, including [[box lacrosse]] as well as [[futsal]] and [[indoor soccer]], also exist.

The term "arena" is also used loosely to refer to any event or type of event which either literally or metaphorically takes place in such a location, often with the specific intent of comparing an idea to a sporting event. Such examples of these would be terms such as "the arena of war", "the arena of love" or "the political arena".

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Inauguración Antel Arena 13 11 2018 (20).jpg|[[Antel Arena]] ([[Montevideo]], Uruguay)
File:Globen September 2014 02.jpg|[[Avicii Arena]] ([[Stockholm]], Sweden)
File:BK ARENA (cropped).jpg|[[BK Arena]] ([[Kigali]], Rwanda)
File:Chase Center.jpg|[[Chase Center]] ([[San Francisco]], United States)
File:Coca-Cola Arena during the Dubai Shopping Festival Closing Celebrations.jpg|[[Coca-Cola Arena]] ([[Dubai]], United Arab Emirates)
File:GdanskSopot ErgoArena 20110603.jpg|[[Ergo Arena]] ([[Gdańsk]], Poland)
File:Jeunesse Arena.jpg|[[Farmasi Arena]] ([[Rio de Janeiro]], Brazil)
File:Hartwall Areena ESC 2007.jpg|[[Helsinki Halli]] ([[Helsinki]], Finland)
File:Jyske Bank Boxen (cropped).jpg|[[Jyske Bank Boxen]] ([[Herning]], Denmark)
File:Lanxess-Arena, Köln-7892.jpg|[[Lanxess Arena]] ([[Cologne]], Germany)
File:Movistar arena 2018.jpg|[[Movistar Arena (Santiago)|Movistar Arena]] ([[Santiago]], Chile)
File:Palacio de los Deportes - panoramio - Ricardo Ricote Rodrí… (2).jpg|[[Palacio de Deportes de la Comunidad de Madrid|Movistar Arena]] ([[Madrid]], Spain)
File:The SSE Hydro (geograph 5420681).jpg|[[SSE Hydro|OVO Hydro]] ([[Glasgow]], Scotland)
File:UArena Nanterre.jpg|[[Paris La Défense Arena]] ([[Paris]], France)
File:Philippine Arena - front view (Bocaue, Bulacan)(2019-05-05).jpg|[[Philippine Arena]], the world's [[List of indoor arenas by capacity|largest indoor arena]].<ref name="hanwha">{{cite news|url=http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/162714/korean-construction-firm-completes-iglesia-ni-cristos-p7-b-philippine-arena|title=Korean construction firm completes Iglesia ni Cristo's P7-B Philippine Arena|last1=de Vera|first1=Ben|date=June 11, 2014|newspaper=Philippine Daily Inquirer|access-date=September 22, 2016}}</ref> ([[Santa Maria, Bulacan|Santa Maria, Philippines]])
File:Rod Laver Arena 2019.jpg|[[Rod Laver Arena]] ([[Melbourne]], Australia)
File:Saitama Super Arena 01.jpg|[[Saitama Super Arena]] ([[Saitama (city)|Saitama]], Japan)
File:Sajik Gymnasium.jpg|[[Sajik Arena]] ([[Busan]], South Korea)
File:Scotiabank Arena - 2018 (cropped).jpg|[[Scotiabank Arena]] ([[Toronto]], Canada)
File:深圳体育馆新馆.jpg|[[Shenzhen Arena]] ([[Shenzhen]], China)
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[Amphitheatre]]
* [[Architectural structure]]
* [[Field house]]
* [[Ice hockey arena]]
* [[List of nonbuilding structure types]]
* [[List of indoor arenas by capacity]]
* [[List of stadiums by capacity]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Wiktionary}}
**{{commons category-inline|Indoor arenas}}

{{Infrastructure}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Music venues]]
[[Category:Sports venues by type]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures by type]]
[[Category:Arenas| ]]