Saitama Super Arena
| Company type | Indoor arena |
|---|---|
| Industry | Sports and entertainment venue |
| Founded | May 5, 2000 |
| Headquarters | Saitama, Saitama Prefecture , Japan |
Area served | Japan |
| Products | Venue for sports, concerts, and events |
| Website | www |
is a versatile indoor arena situated in Chūō-ku, Saitama, within Saitama Prefecture, Japan. It commenced operations on May 5, 2000, with its formal inauguration occurring on September 1, 2000. The facility can accommodate up to 36,500 spectators at full capacity, while the main arena's seating ranges from 19,000 to 22,500 depending on configuration.
The architectural concept was developed by Dan Meis of Ellerbe Becket in partnership with Nikken Sekkei, following an international design competition. A distinctive feature is its expansive movable seating area that allows flexible adjustment of capacity to suit different event scales, thereby increasing both adaptability and audience engagement.
Saitama Super Arena stands as a leading venue for puroresu (Japanese professional wrestling) and mixed martial arts (MMA), also hosting various sports such as boxing, basketball, volleyball, tennis, ice hockey, and gymnastics. Uniquely, it is the sole arena in Japan purpose-built to support American football.
Previously, the arena housed the John Lennon Museum, which displayed related artifacts until its closure in 2010.
New Year's Eve events
Since 2001, the arena has been the site for prominent martial arts events held on New Year's Eve, including:
- Pride Fighting Championships from 2003 to 2006
- The 2007 event Yarennoka organized by former Pride personnel
- Dynamite!! series between 2008 and 2010 featuring Dream, K-1, and Sengoku bouts
- Fight For Japan: Genki Desu Ka Omisoka 2011 showcasing Dream, K-1, and IGF matches
- Dream 18 alongside Glory 4 Tokyo in 2012
- Annual events by Rizin Fighting Federation commencing December 29 and 31 from 2015 onward
Other events
In February 2005, the arena hosted special tapings of several WWE programs including Raw, SmackDown, Heat, and Velocity. These featured the notable "Kimono Match" between Torrie Wilson and Hiroko Suzuki, who later pursued a political career.
On November 29, 2009, it was the venue for a significant boxing bout where WBC Flyweight Champion Daisuke Naito defended his title against challenger Koki Kameda.
The arena marked the return of the Ultimate Fighting Championship to Japan with UFC 144 on February 26, 2012. Subsequent UFC events hosted here include:
- UFC on Fuel TV: Silva vs. Stann on March 3, 2013
- UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Nelson on September 20, 2014
- UFC Fight Night: Barnett vs. Nelson on September 26, 2015
On November 7, 2019, Japanese bantamweight boxer Naoya Inoue secured victory over Nonito Donaire at this venue to claim the bantamweight title of the World Boxing Super Series. He replicated this success during a bantamweight unification match held on June 7, 2022.
The arena also hosted Bellator 237 on December 29, 2019.
On November 4 and 5, 2023, two-time Olympic figure skating champion Yuzuru Hanyu performed as part of his Repray Tour, recognized as the first solo ice show tour in figure skating history.
Other sports
Serving as a home court for the Saitama Broncos basketball team, the arena plays a key role in local professional basketball.
It was the site of two NHL matches in 2000 between the Nashville Predators and Pittsburgh Penguins. In addition, NBA regular-season games were held here in 2003 featuring Seattle SuperSonics and Los Angeles Clippers. The venue also hosted the knockout rounds of the Basketball World Championship in 2006. More recently, NBA preseason contests took place here in both 2019 and 2022 involving teams such as Houston Rockets, Toronto Raptors, Golden State Warriors, and Washington Wizards.
The World Figure Skating Championships have been staged at this location three times: in 2014, again in 2019, and most recently in 2023.
On New Year's Eve of 2018, the arena was chosen for a high-profile exhibition boxing match pitting five-division world champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. against kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa.
Furthermore, during the Tokyo-hosted 2020 Summer Olympics, it functioned as one of the basketball competition venues.
Music
This arena has been the site for a wide array of significant music events, including Music Station, Hey! Hey! Hey! Music Champ, Animelo Summer Live, WIRE, and Yoko Ono's Dream Power concerts. Renowned Japanese performers such as AKB48, Namie Amuro, B'z, Babymetal, Ayumi Hamasaki, L'Arc-en-Ciel, Mr. Children, and YOASOBI have all taken the stage here.
Live shows from well-known anime music franchises like Uta no Prince-sama, Love Live!, K-On!, The Idolmaster, and Touken Ranbu have also been held at this venue.
Globally recognized artists including Mariah Carey, Madonna, Beyoncé, Coldplay, Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, U2, and Iron Maiden have performed at this location. The arena has additionally hosted prominent K-pop groups such as BoA, TVXQ, Super Junior, BTS, Girls' Generation, Big Bang, EXO, Twice, NCT 127, Stray Kids, and J-Hope.
Significant recordings made at the arena include Queen + Paul Rodgers' concerts captured for the DVD Super Live in Japan. Green Day's performance was filmed here for their live album Awesome as Fuck, and Whitesnake recorded their Loud Park Festival set for the live album Made in Japan.
See also
- Paris La Défense Arena, a similarly designed venue located near Paris
- List of indoor arenas in Japan
External links
- Articles with short description
- 2000 establishments in Japan
- Indoor arenas in Japan
- Ice hockey venues in Japan
- Basketball venues in Japan
- College football venues
- Music venues in Japan
- Music venues completed in 2000
- Sports venues completed in 2000
- Mixed martial arts venues in Japan
- Boxing venues in Japan
- Saitama Broncos
- Pride Fighting Championships venues
- Rizin Fighting Federation venues
- Sports venues in Saitama (city)
- Venues of the 2020 Summer Olympics
- Olympic basketball venues