The Turkish city of Bodrum is set for a new multi-purpose arena, which will have a focus on ice sports and cost more than €70m (£59.8m/$83.5m) to build.
Work on the arena, which will also host concerts and other events, is set to begin in around five months. The project will be backed by Russian technology and provide jobs for more than 300 people.
Akhmet Palankoev, the head of the Russian-Turkish Business Council, told the Anadolu Agency (AA) that the arena would take 15 months to construct. It is hoped the arena will boost sports tourism in Bodrum, which is a popular spot for holiday makers.
“We also want to open a school where young people interested in ice hockey, ice skating and other ice sports can receive education,” Palankoev told the AA.
The SportInvest Bodrum entity will carry out the project through a public-private partnership between the Municipality of Bodrum, the Bodrum Promotion Foundation BOTAV and a number of private investors.
SportInvest Bodrum said the arena will host international sports competitions, conferences, exhibitions, economic forums, shows of ‘world stars’, circus performances and other significant events. A focus will also be placed on youth and amateur sport, with sports academies and schools to be created.
The total area of the site is 75,000 square metres, with the total area of the constructed facilities to be around 30,000 square metres. The site will also include shops, a food court, restaurant, hotel and an Olympic-size swimming pool, with a mosque to be built in front of the sports complex.
It is hoped the arena will be used year-round, reducing Bodrum’s dependence on tourism-based seasonality.
Images: Bodrum Arena
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