Venue: Arena Sofia
Town: Sofia, BG
Capacity: 14,545

Arena Sofia (Bulgarian: Арена София,), currently known as Arena 8888 Sofia for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Sofia, Bulgaria. Opened in July 2011, it has a general seating capacity of 12,373. Designed as a universal hall for cultural events and sports, the arena could host up to 30 types of sports, including basketball, volleyball, handball, futsal, boxing, tennis, weightlifting, fencing and gymnastics competitions, as well as concerts with a maximum capacity of 17,906 in its largest configuration. It was formerly called Arena Armeets after the Bulgarian insurance company Armeets purchased the naming rights, until the sponsorship was terminated in October 2022. Since September 2024, it is sponsored by the online gambling platform 8888.bg. The decision to build a new multi-purpose arena in the Bulgarian capital with financial support from the Bulgarian state was made in 2008. A tender process was subsequently launched and in early June 2009, the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Bulgaria officially launched the project and revealed that state-owned company Glavbolgarstroy, as the primary contractor, had submitted the winning bid for this tender. The construction was initially projected to cost 107 million Bulgarian lev. During the 2009 Bulgarian parliamentary election campaign, the groundbreaking ceremony was performed on 2 July 2009, by the then Prime Minister of Bulgaria, Sergey Stanishev. Following the change of government in 2009, the new government under Boyko Borisov determined that the financing of the project was not secured. Against the backdrop of the global economic crisis, the government of Borissov was able to renegotiate the construction costs and reduce them to 90 million BGN. The new arena complex was designed by architect Zheko Tilev and built in the Slatina district, near Aviation Square and Tsarigradsko shose boulevard. It was officially opened on 30 July 2011 by Prime Minister Borisov, with the opening event includi