Capital Indoor Stadium

The Capital Indoor Stadium (simplified Chinese: 首都体育馆; traditional Chinese: 首都體育館; pinyin: Shǒudū Tǐyùguǎn) is an indoor arena in 56 Zhongguancun South Street, Beijing, China that was built in 1968. It hosted matches between national table tennis teams of China and the United States in 1971; these matches were part of the exchange program known as ping pong diplomacy.[1]

Capital Indoor Stadium

The arena during the 2008 Summer Olympics
Location	Beijing, China
Coordinates	39°56′19.70″N 116°19′16.20″E
Capacity	17,345
Construction
Opened	1968
Renovated	2001, 2007

It has a capacity of 17,345 and a floor space of 54,707 square meters expanded from the old 53,000. It was renovated in 2001 to become a venue for the 2001 Summer Universiade.

The stadium hosted one of the first NBA games in China, hosted on October 17, 2004 in front of a sellout capacity of 17,903.[2] It also hosted the first-ever professional football game featuring all-stars from the Arena Football League to help promote the new AFL China league (now known as the China Arena Football League.[3]

Capital Indoor Stadium has undergone a new renovation and expansion that was completed in late 2007 for the 2008 Summer Olympics, where it hosted volleyball tournaments.[4]

The venue is also used for figure skating, curling and ice hockey, which will also be used for the 2022 Winter Olympics.

References

1. "The Ping Heard Round the World". Time. 1971-04-26. Retrieved 2010-05-15.
2. NBA’S INTERNATIONAL GAMES FACT SHEET
3. AFL All-Star Game, CAFL website
4. "Beijing2008.cn profile". Archived from the original on 2008-08-10. Retrieved 2010-09-28.