Source: UEFA.com

The Lotto Arena and Sportpaleis, two adjacent venues in the Merksem district of Antwerp, will stage matches at UEFA Futsal EURO 2014.

City of Antwerp

• With more than 1.2 million residents, including the suburbs, the port of Antwerp (Antwerpen in Dutch, Anvers in French) is the second biggest city in Belgium after Brussels.

• In the far north of Belgium, not far from the Dutch border, Antwerp is the capital of the Antwerp province of Flanders.

• Antwerp is 2013 European Capital of Sport.

• Antwerp staged the 1920 Olympics, the only Games to be held in Belgium. The Olympisch Stadium still stands and until 2013 was the home of KFC Germinal Beerschot.

• The home of Belgium's oldest club, Royal Antwerp FC (founded 1880), the city also boasts 2006/07 and 2011/12 national futsal champions Futsal Topsport Antwerpen.

Group stage: Lotto Arena

Capacity: 5,218
Opened: 2007

• Home of the Antwerp Giants basketball team, the Lotto Arena opened on 10 March 2007 next to the older Sportpaleis, of which it is a smaller copy.

• The arena was built in partnership with the City of Antwerp, the Flemish Community, the European Union and Belgium's National Lottery (whose name the venue has taken).

• The arena can hold up to 8,050 people for concerts, with artists in 2013 including Nick Cave, Simple Minds and will.i.am.

• The Lotto Arena will stage all 12 group games between 28 January and 2 February.

Knockout phase: Sportpaleis

Capacity: 15,000
Opened: 1933

• One of the most heavily-used arenas in the world, the Sportpaleis had 1,239,436 visitors between November 2007 and November 2008, second only to Madison Square Garden according to Billboard magazine.

• The arena was the largest in Europe when it was built.

• A wide variety of sports have been held there, including cycling and tennis, as well as the eight UEFA Futsal EURO 2014 knockout games between 3 and 8 February.

• The Sportpaleis is now mainly used for concerts, for which it can hold up to 25,000 people. Roy Orbison gave his last performance there in 1988, and more recently Beyoncé, Muse, Rihanna, Lady Gaga and One Direction have played at the arena.





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