Venue: Karen Demirchyan Complex
Address: Լենինգրադյան փող. 1
Town: Yerevan, AM
Capacity: 8,008

Karen Demirchyan Sports and Concerts Complex (Armenian: Կարեն Դեմիրճյանի անվան մարզահամերգային համալիր, romanized: Karen Demirchyani anvan marzahamergayin hamalir), also known as Demirchyan Arena, Sports & Music Complex, or simply Hamalir (for complex in Armenian), is a large multi-purpose sports and concert complex with 184 stairs leading up Tsitsernakaberd hill which dominates over the western parts of Yerevan, near the Hrazdan River gorge. The complex consists of two main halls; the concerts hall and the Sports arena, in addition to the large foyer, the small sports hall, the Hayastan conference hall, and the Argishti hall designated for diplomatic meetings, exhibitions, and other events. In August 2015, the government of Armenia decided to sell the complex to a private firm with plans to renovate the complex and turn it into a "family-oriented center". The complex was opened in 1983 but was forced to close within a year and a half after a fire in 1985 for which Shavarsh Karapetyan participated in the rescue, badly burning himself in the process. A renovation process took place until the end of 1987 when it was ready again to host concerts and sports events. The complex was designed by a group of Armenian architects: A. Tarkhanian, S. Khachikyan, G. Pogosyan, and G. Mushegyan. The construction process was supervised by engineers Hamlet Badalyan (chief engineer), I. Tsaturian, A. Azizian, and M. Aharonian. In 1990, Ian Gillan's band has played concerts there. The 32nd Chess Olympiad in 1996 and the 2001 World Wushu Championships also took place at the venue. In 1999, shortly after the assassination of the former speaker of the Armenian parliament Karen Demirchyan in the Armenian parliament shooting, the complex was renamed in honour of him, for his contribution to the construction and the renovation of the complex during the Soviet era. On October 9, 2005, the complex was sold for US$5.7 million. The contract was signed between the Armenian Government and the Russ