A ceremony was held on Wednesday to celebrate the completion of Debrecen’s renovated Főnix Arena. The Főnix Arena, which has already hosted numerous international sporting events, will be one of the venues for the Men’s EHF EURO 2022 in Hungary and Slovakia.

In January, the 6,500-seat arena will host group A preliminary round matches featuring world champions and Olympic silver medallists Denmark, Slovenia, North Macedonia and Montenegro.

At the opening ceremony, Máté Kocsis, President of the Hungarian Handball Federation, and the Mayor of Debrecen, László Papp, were among those to praise the new arena. 

"We dreamed big in 2018 when we submitted our bid with Slovakia to host the Men's European Handball Championship. Our ambitions were crowned with success, and it was clear even then that Debrecen was one of the sure venues," said Máté Kocsis.

Mayor of Debrecen László Papp added: "The facility has been given a new image visually and technically improved as well, which is also reflected in its new name as it is now officially known as the Főnix Arena.”

As the final part of the inauguration ceremony, a clock that will take up a permanent position in Debrecen’s Kossuth Square was unveiled to mark the time remaining until the Men’s EHF EURO 2022 begins.

Tickets for the Men’s EHF EURO 2022 in Hungary can be purchased here.