Bucharest - Sports

Sports

Football is the most widely-followed sport in Bucharest, with the city having numerous club teams, some of them being known throughout Europe: Steaua, Dinamo or Rapid.

Arena Națională, a new stadium inaugurated on 6 September 2011, hosted the 2012 Europa League Final. and has a 55,600 seats capacity, making it one of the largest stadiums in Southeastern Europe.

There are sport clubs for ice hockey, rugby union, basketball, handball, water polo and volleyball. The majority of Romanian track and field athletes and most gymnasts are affiliated with clubs in Bucharest. The Athletics and many Gymnastics National Championships are held in Bucharest at the Polyvalent Hall, which is also used for other indoor sports such as volleyball and handball.

The largest indoor arena in Bucharest is the Romexpo Dome with a seating capacity of 10,000. It is used for tennis, boxing and kickboxing.

Starting in 2007 Bucharest has hosted annual races along a temporary urban track surrounding the Palace of the Parliament, called Bucharest Ring. The competition is called the Bucharest City Challenge, and has hosted FIA GT, FIA GT3, British F3, and Logan Cup races in 2007 and 2008. The 2009 and 2010 edition have not been held in Bucharest due to a lawsuit. Bucharest GP, owned by the controversial businessman Nicolae Șerbu, won the lawsuit that it initiated and will host city races around the Parliament starting 2011 with the Auto GP.

Every year, Bucharest hosts BRD Năstase Țiriac Trophy international tennis tournament, which is included in the ATP Tour. The outdoors tournament is hosted by the tennis complex BNR Arenas. The ice hockey games are held at the Mihai Flamaropol Arena, which holds 8,000 spectators. The rugby games are held in different locations, but the most modern stadium is Arcul de Triumf Stadium, where also the Romanian national rugby team plays.