Drive in Arena

Shlomo Group Arena
Location	Tel Aviv, Israel
Public transit	at Gane HaTa'arukha; Coastal Railway Line at Tel Aviv University
Owner	Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality
Operator	Sport Palaces Tel Aviv Yafo Ltd.
Capacity	3,504
Surface	Parquet
Construction
Broke ground	March 2013
Opened	November 2014
Construction cost	₪ 92 million ; € 20 million
Tenants
	Hapoel Tel Aviv (2014–present); Israel men's national basketball team; Israel men's national handball team; Israel women's national basketball team

The Drive in Arena (Hebrew: היכל הדרייב אין), officially named Shlomo Group Arena (Hebrew: היכל קבוצת שלמה) due to commercial sponsorship, is a multi-purpose hall in the northern part of Tel Aviv. Built on the grounds of what was once Israel's only Drive-in theater and opened in November 2014, it is used primarily as the home arena for the basketball team Hapoel Tel Aviv.

Features[]

The building has an area about of 6,600 square metres (71,000 sq ft) and is accessible for the disabled. The hall has 3,504 seats,^[1] 300 of which are collapsible to allow the facility to host volleyball and handball games.

The hall also accommodates concerts and conferences. It features red and white chairs and blue plaid pattern.^{[clarification needed]} Besides the hall of the building, there are four dressing rooms, a gym, a dressing room for officials, press rooms, a VIP lounge and an entryway with glass fronts.

Background[]

In July 2007, the mayor of Tel Aviv decided to demolish the arena of Hapoel Tel Aviv basketball team. Despite fans' protest and struggle to save it, the Ussishkin arena was eventually demolished.

Hapoel fell apart, and was re-established by its fans and was in the lowest league, playing in the replacement arena. When Hapoel returned to the first league, the mayor decided to build a new arena, so that Hapoel would not have to travel every year. Increased excitement among fans, and on January 4, 2015, Hapoel played for the first time in its new arena against Hapoel Jerusalem and won 81-67.