Fernando Buesa Arena
Buesa Arena | |
 | |
 Interactive map of Fernando Buesa Arena | |
Former names | Pabellón Araba (1991–2000)[1] |
|---|---|
| Location | Torre 12 01013 Vitoria-Gasteiz, Araba, Spain |
| Coordinates | 42°51′51.97″N 2°38′28.22″W / 42.8644361°N 2.6411722°W |
| Owner | Diputación Foral de Álava |
| Capacity | Basketball: 15,716[2] Boxing / Martial arts: 16,164[2] |
Record attendance | 15,544 (Baskonia vs Real Madrid, 3 January 2016) |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1991[3] |
| Expanded | 2012 |
| Tenants | |
| Saski Baskonia (1991–present) | |
| Website | |
| Official Website | |
Fernando Buesa Arena is an indoor sports arena in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain. It is primarily used for basketball and is the home arena of Saski Baskonia.
History
[edit]The history of the Fernando Buesa Arena has been closely linked with Saski Baskonia. The building was originally constructed in the 1970s as a livestock market, but was later converted into a basketball arena as the club required a larger venue. Baskonia had previously played its home games at the Mendizorrotza sports complex.
In 1990, the Provincial Council of Álava approved the conversion of the former livestock-market building into a basketball arena for Baskonia. The project had a final cost of approximately 500 million Spanish pesetas, equivalent to about €3 million.[4] The new venue, originally known as the Pabellón Araba, opened on 15 September 1990 with a pre-season game between Taugrés Baskonia and Atlético de Madrid Villalba. Its original basketball capacity was approximately 5,400 spectators.
The move represented a major step in the development of Baskonia and coincided with the club's rapid growth into one of the leading basketball teams in Spain. During the early 1990s, the arena underwent further modifications to accommodate the club's increasing attendances.
Baskonia played Liga ACB games at the venue during the 1991–92 ACB season, with recorded attendances including 5,000 spectators against Valvi Girona on 24 October 1991, 6,000 against Montigalà Joventut on 22 December and 5,800 against Real Madrid on 29 December.[5][6]
1998 expansion
[edit]In 1998, the arena underwent its first major expansion. The original roof structure was raised approximately 11.5 metres and additional seating was installed, increasing the capacity to more than 9,000 spectators. The enlargement allowed the venue to accommodate Baskonia's rapidly growing support and an increasing number of major domestic and European basketball games.
The development of the arena accompanied Baskonia's growth during the 1990s and 2000s as the club became a regular contender in Spanish competitions and established itself as a regular participant in European basketball.
In March 2000, following the assassination of Álava politician Fernando Buesa, the venue was renamed Fernando Buesa Arena in his memory.
2011–12 expansion
[edit]A second major expansion and redevelopment began in March 2011. The project was designed to increase the capacity of Fernando Buesa Arena from approximately 9,500 seats to more than 15,000 spectators and to make the venue capable of staging major international basketball events, including a potential EuroLeague Final Four.
The redevelopment was estimated to cost approximately €25 million. The work involved the removal and replacement of the existing roof structure, the construction of an additional seating tier and extensive alterations to the interior of the arena.
During the construction work, Baskonia temporarily moved its home games to Iradier Arena. EuroLeague home games during that period were also played at Iradier Arena. Baskonia returned to the partially completed Fernando Buesa Arena during the 2011–12 ACB season.
The expanded arena was inaugurated on 9 April 2012 for a Liga ACB game between Caja Laboral Baskonia and Real Madrid. The game attracted 15,504 spectators, establishing a new attendance record for the Spanish league at the time.
The expansion transformed Fernando Buesa Arena into one of the largest basketball arenas in Spain and one of the highest-capacity venues regularly used in the EuroLeague. The redevelopment formed part of the long-term development of Baskonia and its facilities under club president Josean Querejeta. Baskonia later stated that the growth of Fernando Buesa Arena had accompanied the expansion of the club since the early 1990s.[7]
Attendance records
[edit]Following the 2012 expansion, Fernando Buesa Arena became one of the leading basketball venues in Spain in terms of attendance. Baskonia regularly attracted crowds exceeding 10,000 spectators for major Liga ACB and EuroLeague games.
The arena held several Liga ACB attendance records during the 2010s and 2020s. Its increased capacity also allowed Baskonia to record some of the largest single-game attendances in European club basketball. EuroLeague match reports regularly recorded crowds above 10,000 spectators at the venue, including 10,867 against Olympiacos in October 2016 and 14,128 against Fenerbahçe the following month.[8][9]
In later seasons, the venue continued to produce some of the largest crowds in the ACB. Before the opening of the Roig Arena in Valencia, Fernando Buesa Arena held several benchmark attendance figures for the Spanish league.[10]
Major events
[edit]
The arena hosted the 1996 European Cup Final, in which local Saski Baskonia won the title and also hosted the 2010 EuroCup Finals.[11]
The Final Eight of the Copa del Rey (Spanish Cup) was played four times at Buesa Arena (2000, 2002, 2008 and 2013).[12]
On 9 April 2012, at the game of Caja Laboral against Real Madrid, Fernando Buesa Arena registered the record of attendance in a basketball game of the Spanish Liga ACB with 15,504 spectators.[13]
The arena has hosted the Euskalgym since 2014, which is one of the biggest and greatest rhythmic gymnastics gala events in the world.
On 3 January 2016, at the game of Laboral Kutxa against Real Madrid, Fernando Buesa Arena registered the new record of attendance in a basketball game of Liga ACB with 15,544 spectators.[14]
It hosted the 2019 EuroLeague Final Four, registering an average attendance of 13,239 spectators in the four hosted games.
Attendances
[edit]This is a list of Liga ACB and EuroLeague game attendances of Baskonia at Fernando Buesa Arena since the completion of the arena's latest expansion.
| Season | Combined total | Liga ACB | EuroLeague | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | High | Low | Average | Total | High | Low | Average | ||
| 1990–91 to 2010–11 — Seasons played before the completion of the latest expansion of Fernando Buesa Arena | |||||||||
| 2011–12[a] | 94,038 (7) | 94,038 (7) | 15,504 | 10,512 | 13,434 | All games played at Iradier Arena | |||
| 2012–13 | 357,865 (33) | 189,449 (19) | 14,381 | 7,143 | 9,971 | 168,416 (14) | 15,068 | 9,936 | 12,030 |
| 2013–14 | 293,518 (30) | 165,412 (18) | 14,623 | 6,824 | 9,190 | 128,106 (12) | 14,196 | 8,246 | 10,676 |
| 2014–15 | 278,399 (30) | 160,517 (18) | 11,246 | 7,812 | 8,918 | 117,882 (12) | 12,619 | 7,689 | 9,824 |
| 2015–16 | 361,541 (35) | 208,276 (21) | 15,544 | 6,729 | 9,918 | 153,265 (14) | 13,964 | 8,366 | 10,948 |
| 2016–17 | 381,302 (36) | 195,169 (20) | 14,316 | 7,382 | 9,758 | 186,133 (16) | 14,875 | 9,437 | 11,633 |
| 2017–18 | 417,224 (39) | 224,265 (22) | 15,512 | 8,102 | 10,194 | 192,959 (17) | 14,923 | 9,196 | 11,351 |
| 2018–19 | 353,997 (35) | 164,645 (18) | 15,544 | 6,429 | 9,417 | 189,352 (17) | 12,847 | 9,743 | 11,138 |
| 2019–20[b] | 256,422 (26) | 107,170 (12) | 11,589 | 7,625 | 8,931 | 149,252 (14) | 13,628 | 8,725 | 10,661 |
| 2020–21 | 0 | Season played behind closed doors | Season played behind closed doors | ||||||
| 2021–22[c] | 225,082 (33) | 128,691 (19) | 10,038 | 5,062 | 6,773 | 96,391 (14) | 8,218 | 5,426 | 6,885 |
| 2022–23 | 309,822 (35) | 157,929 (18) | 15,501 | 5,706 | 8,774 | 151,893 (17) | 15,554 | 6,081 | 8,935 |
| 2023–24 | 343,226 (36) | 153,803 (17) | 15,504 | 6,242 | 9,047 | 189,423 (19) | 14,017 | 7,542 | 9,970 |
| 2024–25 | 333,016 (35) | 171,826 (18) | 13,082 | 7,072 | 9,546 | 161,190 (17) | 14,204 | 7,155 | 9,482 |
| 2025–26 | 317,082 (38) | 168,558 (19) | 12,247 | 7,109 | 8,871 | 148,524 (19) | 14,114 | 7,234 | 8,737 |
| 2026–27 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
- ↑ Only seven Liga ACB games were played at Fernando Buesa Arena after the expansion was completed. EuroLeague home games were played at Iradier Arena.
- ↑ Both competitions were suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- ↑ Some games were played under attendance restrictions.
Numbers in parentheses after attendance totals indicate the number of home games played at Fernando Buesa Arena. In the Combined total column, the number in parentheses represents the combined number of Liga ACB and EuroLeague home games. In the Total column under each competition, the number in parentheses represents the number of home games played in that competition. Cells with a light blue background indicate the highest value recorded in the respective column.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ El Pabellón Araba pasa a llamarse Fernando Buesa Arena
- 1 2 "Sports Competitions". buesa-arena.com. Archived from the original on 16 October 2017. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
- ↑ Fernando Buesa Arena Archived 2009-05-30 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ "La historia del Pabellón Araba/Buesa Arena". Baskonistas.com (in Spanish). 15 April 2012. Retrieved 10 August 2026.
- ↑ "Taugrés Baskonia 88–83 Valvi Girona". ACB. 24 October 1991. Retrieved 10 August 2026.
- ↑ "Taugrés Baskonia vs Montigalà Joventut" (in Spanish). ACB. 22 December 1991. Retrieved 10 August 2026.
- ↑ "Josean Querejeta, nombrado ejecutivo del año por la Euroliga" (in Spanish). Saski Baskonia. 5 July 2016. Retrieved 10 August 2026.
- ↑ "Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz vs Olympiacos Piraeus". EuroLeague. Retrieved 10 August 2026.
- ↑ "Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz vs Fenerbahçe Istanbul". EuroLeague. Retrieved 10 August 2026.
- ↑ "Récords que puede batir el Roig Arena en su estreno en Liga Endesa" (in Spanish). ACB. 1 October 2025. Retrieved 10 August 2026.
- ↑ Eurocupbasketball.com - An arena that grows with basketball's popularity.
- ↑ Eurocup'96 Archived 2008-06-06 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ "¡15.504 espectadores! El Buesa Arena establece un nuevo récord de asistencia". Archived from the original on 2012-04-13. Retrieved 2012-04-09.
- ↑ "Récord histórico de público en Liga Endesa: 15,544 espectadores en el Buesa". acb.com (in Spanish). 3 January 2016. Archived from the original on 19 April 2016. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
External links
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