UFM Aréna

UFM-Arena sits on Gorkij utca in Mosonmagyaróvár. The building opened in 2017 after a two-year build. It is a box of glass and steel that arrived when the town needed one.

The entrance sits off Kapucinus utca, not the main road. The façade is a curve of windows that reflect whatever is passing by. A row of fountains lines the square in front, though they are not always on. Inside, the seating rises in blue tiers, separated by a red band that is visible from the rink. The scoreboard hangs low above the centre, and the banners on the wall belong to sponsors who pay for the ice to stay frozen. The arena fell silent between events, when the cleaning crew came through.

It holds 1,100 seats and is the only indoor sports hall in the town. Mosonmagyaróvári KC SE plays its handball matches here, in the top Hungarian league. The club was founded in 1904 and still owns the building, though the letters UFM in the name stand for the older gymnastics society that started it all. Basketball, badminton and volleyball also use the floor. Concerts and exhibitions take place when the sport season ends. The arena did not have a former name and was never a renamed place; during construction it was simply called the city sports hall.

It does not look like the other halls in the country. The glass wraps the whole building, and the high line was picked apart by the wind on a clear day. No one has set a record here yet, and there is no attendance figure worth mentioning. The town does not need one.