The Velodrom is an indoor track cycling

Track cycling

Track cycling is a bicycle racing sport usually held on specially built banked tracks or velodromes using track bicycles....

 arena

Arena

An arena is an enclosed area, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theater, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators. The key feature of an arena is that the event space is the...

, in the Prenzlauer Berg

Prenzlauer Berg

Prenzlauer Berg is a locality of Berlin, in the borough of Pankow.Until 2001, Prenzlauer Berg was a borough of Berlin; in that year it was included in the borough of Pankow....

, locality of Berlin

Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

. Holding up to 12,000 people, it was also Berlin's largest concert venue, until the opening of O2 World

O2 World

O2 World is a multi-use indoor arena, in the Friedrichshain neighborhood, of Berlin, that opened in September 2008. Developed by Anschutz Entertainment Group, it was named O2 World, when O2 Germany purchased the naming rights...

 in 2008.

It is part of a larger complex, which includes a swimming pool as well, built in the course of the - unsuccessful - application of Berlin, for the 2000 Summer Olympics

2000 Summer Olympics

The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...

.

It replaced the former Werner-Seelenbinder-Halle, which was demolished in 1993.

It hosts, mainly, indoor sporting events, trade shows and concerts.

Architecture

The building was designed by french architect Dominique Perrault

Dominique Perrault

Dominique Perrault is a French architect. He became world known for the design of the French National Library, distinguished with the Mies van der Rohe Prize in 1996....

 who won an international design competition

Architectural design competition

An architectural design competition is a special type of competition in which an organization or government body that plans to build a new building asks for architects to submit a proposed design for a building. The winning design is usually chosen by an independent panel of design professionals...

 in 1992.

The arena is famous for its steel roof construction - with a diameter

Diameter

In geometry, a diameter of a circle is any straight line segment that passes through the center of the circle and whose endpoints are on the circle. The diameters are the longest chords of the circle...

 of 142 meters, it has Europe's largest steel roof.

Notable events

In 1999, it hosted the UCI Track Cycling World Championships

UCI Track Cycling World Championships

The UCI Track Cycling World Championships are the set of world championship events for the various disciplines and distances in track cycling and are regulated by the Union Cycliste Internationale...

 and has been the site of the annual Berlin Six-day racing

Six-day racing

A six or six-day is a track cycling race that lasts six days. Six-day races started in Britain, spread to many regions of the world, were brought to their modern style in the United States and are now mainly a European event. Initially, individuals competed alone, the winner being the individual...

since then.