Unipol Arena 2026

Unipol Arena: Bologna's big room in Casalecchio

Unipol Arena opened in December 1993 as the Palasport di Casalecchio, designed by Studio Arco with Luigi Villano and Franco Zarri, in Casalecchio di Reno on the south-western edge of Bologna. Renamed PalaMalaguti in 1998 and Futurshow Station in 2008, it has carried the Unipol name since October 2011 and ranks among Italy's largest indoor venues: around 11,000 seats for basketball and up to 20,000 people for full-floor concerts. That scale makes it the standard Bologna stop for international arena tours, alongside basketball, tennis and other indoor sport, comedy and corporate events.

Seating layout

Concerts pair a floor — standing or seated depending on the production — with tiered stands rising on all sides of the rectangular bowl. End-stage shows close the sections behind the stage, while the full arena opens for centre-stage events and sport. Sector names and numbering follow each event's seat map, and the basketball configuration differs from the concert one, so always match your ticket to the plan for that specific date.

Getting there

The arena is at Via Gino Cervi 2 in Casalecchio di Reno, just outside Bologna. It has its own railway stop, Casalecchio Palasport, right by the venue, reached by regional trains from Bologna Centrale; by road it sits near the junctions where Bologna's ring road meets the motorway corridor, and a taxi from the city centre takes roughly twenty minutes depending on traffic.

FAQ

Is Unipol Arena in Bologna itself? It is in Casalecchio di Reno, a municipality bordering Bologna to the south-west, with its own railway stop beside the venue.

How many people does it hold? Around 11,000 for basketball and up to 20,000 for concerts, depending on stage and floor configuration.

How do I get there by train? Regional trains from Bologna Centrale stop at Casalecchio Palasport, right next to the arena.