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sports arena

sports arena

7 2.5
A large indoor building with seats for people to watch sports like basketball or hockey
  • noun
  • /spɔrts əˈrinə/
translation icon : arena deportiva
  • Thousands of fans gathered in the sports arena to watch their favorite team play.

Examples

  • The championship game will be held at the sports arena next Saturday.

  • The city of Montevideo alone boasted over three hundred sports arenas in 1896, the year of the first Olympic Games.

    Academic text (1995)
  • You were at the sports arena in Vegas?

  • You know, the new residential one, down by the sports arena?

  • How about watching a kid in the stands at some enormous sports arena or at a live concert?

    Blog text (15)
  • I want to build tons of sports arenas and fund active sports programs for our youth.

    Blog text (2)
  • The Bulls and Blackhawks would play in the winter sports arena.

    Blog text (20)
  • He's the architect who designed the new loft building, near the sports arena.

  • Portions of the gigantic sports arena have been damaged in the earthquake, but crowds still pour into the entrances.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • For example, the planned relocation of a professional basketball team from a suburban sports arena to a downtown Brooklyn location with nearby subway access will enable fans to attend games without having to drive.

    Academic text (2006)

Synonyms

arena
vssports arena
129 2.9

A large building with seats where people watch sports or concerts

is limited to sporting use rather than general entertainment or concerts
gymnasium
vssports arena
25 3.3

A large indoor room where people exercise and play sports

caters to large spectator events rather than small training or exercise sessions
athletic facility
vssports arena
3 3.2

A place for sports and exercise like a gym or stadium

is a specific large indoor building mainly for spectator sporting events
field house
vssports arena
  • US
2 3.6

A large indoor building for sports and training with space for spectators

is focused on large spectator events rather than on training activities

How Big

stadium
659 1.4
sports arena
7 2.5
gymnasium
25 3.3

Surface Forms

sports arena singular
sports arenas plural

Morphology

sport + arena

The meaning is directly compositional: 'arena' denotes a venue for events and 'sports' specifies the type of events, so 'sports arena' clearly means an arena used for sporting events. This noun–noun compounding pattern is common and predictable cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Sports arena comes from the old word arena, which meant a sandy area where Roman games and contests happened. The parts sports and arena simply mean the sport activity and the 'place' for events, so sports arena now means a large indoor building with seats where people watch sports.