03.10.2011, 12:29
Millennium Arena is ready

Partizan Belgrade played a VELUX EHF Champions League match in the EHF EURO 2012 playing hall.

Millennium Arena is ready

The Millennium Arena in Vrsac, one of the five venues hosting the EHF EURO 2012 in Serbia next January, got its first taste of top-level handball action when Partizan Belgrade took on Denmark’s AG Copenhagen in their VELUX EHF Champions League Group D opener on Saturday.

Although it was not a full house, those who turned up in the acoustic hall created a cracking atmosphere right from the start, suggesting that the capacity crowds expected to fill the arena during the European Championship can really look forward to enjoying the event.

"I really liked the arena, it’s a great place to play and it looks capable of creating a fantastic atmosphere when it’s full," said Copenhagen’s Icelandic winger Gudjon Valur Sigurdsson, who will play in the Millennium Arena with Iceland in the EHF EURO 2012 Preliminary Round Group D.

"I am pretty sure those Iceland fans who make the trip to Serbia will enjoy themselves and have a good time," he told the EHF.

Apart from Iceland, the group comprises their traditional Nordic rivals Norway as well as former Yugoslav nations Slovenia and Croatia.

Copenhagen’s Norwegian goalkeeper Steinar Ege also heaped praise on the arena and said he was looking forward to playing in the venue.

"It’s really a fantastic arena and although we hoped it would be full, I am sure capacity crowds will turn up for the European Championship, among them several hundred Norwegian fans who always follow us in major events and make a lot of noise," Ege told.

Denmark’s Mikkel Hansen added: It’s a great arena, very acoustic and it will get very noisy during the European Championship. My impression is that it’s very comfortable and that the facilities are excellent."

The modern, multi-purpose venue is usually home to local basketball team Hemofarm, but its maiden high-profile handball match showed that choosing it as one of the venues for the EHF EURO 2012 was a well-judged decision.

Further information

Download the Official EHF EURO 2012 Playing Schedule (pdf)

Buy your EHF EURO 2012 tickets HERE.

Ticketing is managed by the Serbian Organising Committees. Should you need further assistance for buying your tickets, please contact via email: tickets@rss.org.rs

Find more information on the tournament on the official website www.ehf-euro.com/SRB2012/

Join the growing community of fans of the event on Facebook www.facebook.com/SRB2012

TEXT: Zoran Milosavljevic