Arena Burgas (
Bulgarian: Арена Бургас) is a multifunctional
indoor arena located in
Burgas,
Bulgaria. The arena opened on May 18, 2023, following over five years of delays.[3] It has a seating capacity of 4,100 for sports events, which is expandable up to 6,100, and up to 15,000 for concerts.[2] The arena is home to
BC Chernomorets, who play in the
NBL, the top flight of Bulgarian basketball.
History
Construction for the arena took over eight years. After breaking ground in late 2014 with a planned budget of 38 million
Bulgarian lev and a completion date of January 2017, the project was met with multiple delays and funding issues,[4][5] with the final official budget figure ballooning to 64 million.[1]
In 2022, under then-Minister of Youth and Sports Radostin Vassilev, a proposal was made to grant an additional 15 million lev in funding to finish the arena, however this attempt to secure additional funding was unsuccessful.[2] Following more than five years of delays, the multifunctional arena was officially opened on May 18, 2023, in the presence of Bulgarian President
Rumen Radev, Burgas mayor Dimitar Nikolov, and other government officials,[6] with a playoffs match between
BC Chernomorets and
BC Rilski Sportist of the
NBL.[7]
The long delays, alongside the string of both successful and failed budget increases, have turned the multipurpose arena into a symbol of corruption in Burgas[8] and Bulgaria as a whole,[1][9] with
Hristo Ivanov, leader of the opposition coalition
Democratic Bulgaria, describing it as the crown jewel of corruption under
Boyko Borisov and
GERB in 2021.[10]