Royal Arena

Royal Arena is a multi-use indoor arena in Ørestad Syd, a new development in the city of Copenhagen, Denmark. The ground was broken for construction on 26 June 2013 and the arena opened in February 2017. It has a capacity of 13,000 for sporting events and up to 16,000 (either sitting or standing) for concerts.

The project was presented at a press conference at Bella Sky Hotel on 23 September 2011. The design of the arena was presented on 7 June 2012. The winning design team consists of 3XN, HKS, Inc., Arup, ME Engineers and Planit. The arena will have a distinctly Nordic design. It is sponsored by the Danish brewery Royal Unibrew.

Background
In Copenhagen, Parken Stadium, which is primary a football stadium, is the largest indoor arena, with a seating capacity of 38,065. The next-door Malmö Arena in Sweden, which hosted the Eurovision Song Contest in 2013 and several sporting events, was suitable for regional and international events requiring an indoor arena with a capacity of 10,000–20,000, but could not be expected to serve Danish domestic events. The last time Denmark hosted the Eurovision Song Contest in 2014, the city used the B&W Hallerne, which is a former industrial complex, and which became too expensive. For most international sporting events, Brøndby Hall and Ballerup Super Arena are not big enough, while Parken Stadium is too big.

For hosting events such as the Eurovision Song Contest, World Men's Handball Championship, Ice Hockey World Championship, FINA World Aquatics Championships, Disney on Ice, and Cirque du Soleil an arena of this size is required.

Financing and operation
Realdania and Copenhagen Municipality will each make DKK 325,000,000 available for the project, while the Elite Facility Committee is expected to make a construction grant, and operating grants are expected from the National Olympic Committee and Sports Confederation of Denmark. The site is made available by CPH City & Port Development. The chosen operator will have to lend the rest of the financing.

Although five companies qualified to bid as arena operators, Live Nation was selected as operator ahead of AEG Facilities in December 2011.

Notable events
On 26 September 2016, Metallica announced via their blog that they will be "the first event ever held" at the new arena. Their shows are scheduled for the first week of February 2017. The Weeknd performed at the arena as part of his Starboy: Legend of the Fall Tour on 20 February 2017. The 2017 European Short Course Swimming Championships will be the first major sporting event in the arena, which will have a capacity of circa 12,500. The arena was one of two arenas (the other being Jyske Bank Boxen) to host the 2018 IIHF World Championship. The Royal Arena will be one of eight venues in Denmark and Germany to host the 2019 World Men's Handball Championship. The 2018 EU LCS Spring Split, and Summer Split Finals (G2 Esports VS Fnatic) (FC Schalke-04 VS Fnatic). On September 28th 2019, the arena hosted Denmark's first UFC event, UFC Fight Night: Hermansson vs. Cannonier. It was announced that the Royal Arena would host the 2021 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships from 18 October to 24 October 2021. It will be one of eleven venues in Croatia, Denmark and Norway for the 2025 World Men's Handball Championship.