Spodek

Spodek is an events and sports arena in Katowice, in the Koszutka district, at aleja Wojciecha Korfantego 35. It was built in 1964-1971 to a design by Maciej Gintowt and Maciej Krasiński and opened on 8 May 1971. The main hall has the shape of a truncated inverted cone covered with aluminium scales and is one of the city's most recognisable symbols. In 2025 the Spodek complex was entered in the heritage register.

Where the shape of Spodek came from

The design was chosen in a closed competition in 1960, and the work of a Warsaw team from the Bureau of Studies and Standard Designs for Industrial Construction was selected for realisation.

The main originator and structural engineer of the hall was Wacław Zalewski. The designers proposed grandstands hanging in the air, which gave the building the shape of an inverted cone; the model appeared on the covers of European professional journals. The hall was originally to stand in Chorzów, near the Silesian Planetarium, but by a decision of Jerzy Ziętek it was moved closer to the centre of Katowice. Construction began in 1964 on the site of the former Bogucice zinc smelters, where Dwór Marii had earlier stood. The name "Spodek" (the "flying saucer") became widespread at the turn of the 1970s and 1980s, because the form resembled the flying saucers of science fiction novels.

A structure on ground damaged by mining

Ground left by former mining forced unusual solutions: the hall touches the ground over a very small area.

A reinforced-concrete foundation bowl in the form of a prestressed ring rests on 40 columns, which can tilt and protect the building from ground movements. The roof, spanning 126 m, was made of 120 steel ribs and the same number of cables; it was one of the first structures in the world built on the tensegrity concept. The façade is covered with 30,000 scales, today aluminium, originally asbestos-cement, and the roof overhang is decorated with crushed white porcelain. The main hall has 11,016 seats (9,351 fixed and 1,665 retractable), and the arena floor measures 44.6 by 60 m.

What the complex contains

Next to the main hall, the complex has an ice rink, a gymnasium, a recreational pool and a hotel.

The ice rink has a 30 by 60 m surface and stands for 1,182 spectators; it is the main venue of the GKS Katowice ice hockey team. The gymnasium is used for fitness and other training, among other things, and the recreational pool has a stainless-steel basin 15 m long. Concerts in the hall have included Metallica (their first concert in Poland, in 1987), Deep Purple, Pearl Jam and Rammstein. Regular festivals are also held here, among them the Rawa Blues Festival, Metalmania and Mayday, as well as matches, fairs and conferences.

The Culture Zone next door

Spodek is part of the Culture Zone, created on the site of the closed "Katowice" mine.

On the other side of aleja Roździeńskiego stands the Monument to the Silesian Insurgents, erected in the same period as the hall.

Right beside it is the seat of the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, about 300 m from Spodek.

Further on, about 700 m away, lies the Silesian Museum in Katowice. The hall is connected to the International Congress Centre by an underground passage.

In the area there is also the Stanisław Wyspiański Silesian Theatre, about 700 m from the hall.

Practical information

• Address: aleja Wojciecha Korfantego 35, Katowice. In front of the hall stretches plac Sławika i Antalla with a city bike station.
• Getting there: near the junction with aleja Roździeńskiego is the Katowice Rondo tram stop, and by the NOSPR seat is the Katowice Strefa Kultury NOSPR bus stop.
• Admission to the hall depends on the event, so check dates and rules in the events calendar on the Spodek website. The site also mentions guided tours showing the architecture and lesser-known places, and accessibility for people with disabilities.
• Current opening hours of the gym, fitness and pool are listed on the Spodek website.