Zeidler Miklós: Sporting Spaces - Our Budapest (Budapest, 2000)
The interior structure of the Budapest Sports Hall tion also connected to the complex. Inside the hall itself were the stairwells, corridors, the modern, convertible arena (one where artificial ice could be prepared) and terraces almost fully surrounding the latter. There were 8,000 seats on the grandstand and another 2,000 on the pull-out terraces rolling on castors, while the arena itself had room for further 2,500 chairs. The structure of the circular hall was determined by three storeys of circular hallways, and the unsupported span over a diameter of 102 metres. Twin cables connect 48 rings of reinforced concrete or steel resting on an iron pillar each with a pulled ring of steel structure in the middle. All this can be spoken of in past tense only, as it was precisely the lead anchorage of this strained structure of cables that melted in a conflagration of 15 December 1999, which is why the entire ceiling collapsed. Dozens of international competitions, countless games, cultural and political events, exhibitions and fairs were held in the BS in its time. There will be a brand new hall built in its place, even if the foundations and the surviving structural components can probably be made use of. A building somewhat larger and more complex than the BS (a sports hall cum entertainment and catering facility) with an arena even more modern than its predecessor is being planned to open its doors in the year 2002. 61
