Inalpi Arena

Immagine dalla pubblicazione di Torino Free — From the Torino Free publication, 2026-03-18

The Inalpi Arena is the largest indoor arena in Turin: a glass-and-steel block designed by Arata Isozaki for the ice hockey tournament of the 2006 Winter Olympics, built next to the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino in the Piazza d'Armi area^[1]^[2]. In the twenty years since the Games it has become the city's venue for major indoor events, from the ATP Finals tennis tournament to the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest. Over the years it has changed name several times: Palasport Olimpico, PalaIsozaki, Pala Alpitour and, since 2024, Inalpi Arena.

The Olympic project

The arena was built between 2002 and 2005 by a team made up of the Arata Isozaki & Associates studio, the architect Pier Paolo Maggiora (Archa) and the engineering firm Arup; the same project, which continued until 2006, also redesigned Piazza d'Armi^[1]. It was built on the site of the former Stadio Comunale and was part of the so-called central Olympic complex, together with the Palazzo del Nuoto and the Piazza d'Armi park^[3]^[4]. In presenting the venues for the Games, the Regional Council of Piedmont described its ambition in these terms:

«The new Palahockey — along with the Torre Maratona, the stadium and the great green space — will redefine the urban landscape of the Piazza d'Armi area.»
Regional Council of Piedmont, I tascabili di Palazzo Lascaris: Torino 2006

At the same time the stadium and the Torre Maratona were refurbished, and the stretch of Corso Sebastopoli in front of the stadium was closed to cars and linked to the park^[5]^[1]. Work on the arena was completed in September 2005, at a cost of 85 million euros^[2].

Architecture

The building is a large rectangular volume clad in rusticated stainless steel panels, which appears to float and juts out over a glazed base^[1]. Above ground it rises just 12 metres, but descends a further 7.5 metres below street level; its footprint measures 183 by 100 metres, and the whole complex extends to 200 metres in length^[4]. The secret to its versatility lies inside: a system of movable stands makes it possible to change the level of the playing surface and to convert the hockey rink into a concert hall, a convention space or a venue for other sports^[3]^[4]. The same designers also created the pedestrian square in front of the building, marked out by a grid of trees and lights with a pool of water at its centre^[1].

Capacity figures vary depending on configuration and on the year. MuseoTorino gives a figure of 12,500 seats^[1]; according to Mole24, in 2016 there were 14,350 seats, and in concert configuration the venue could hold up to 18,500 people^[4]; Il Post, in 2024, put the figure at over 15,500 seats^[6].

After the Games

During the Olympics the arena hosted the ice hockey tournament, including the men's final, won by Sweden over Finland 3-2^[2]. After the Games, in 2009 a tender awarded the management of the Olympic venues for thirty years, until 2039, to Live Nation, which set up the company Parcolimpico: originally holding 70 per cent of the shares, later rising to 90 per cent, with the remaining 10 per cent held by the Fondazione 20 Marzo 2006^[6]. The underlying problem with those buildings was summed up by Parcolimpico's general manager, Daniele Donati:

«The main issue is that all these venues, and the hotels too, were designed to last two weeks: they were meant to be switched fully on and then fully off.»
Daniele Donati, general manager of Parcolimpico, to Il Post, 2024

According to Il Post, Isozaki's arena has become probably the most successful case of Olympic reconversion in Turin: in 2023 it hosted more than fifty events, including concerts, corporate conventions, the volleyball Champions League finals and the basketball Coppa Italia Final Eight^[6]. For commercial reasons it was long known as Pala Alpitour, while many Turinese kept calling it PalaIsozaki, after its designer^[4].

Tennis and Eurovision

In April 2019 Turin was awarded the ATP Finals from 2021 to 2025, beating bids from London, Manchester, Tokyo and Singapore^[7]. At the official presentation, held on 29 April at Palazzo Madama, the deputy president of the Piedmont Region said that «Turin won because of its ability to build alliances», noting that it was the only Italian city with a suitable venue: Isozaki's arena, destined to become the hub of a tennis complex with indoor courts for training^[8]. Since 2021 the tournament has been played here, in what organisers describe as the largest indoor sports venue in Italy^[9].

From 10 to 14 May 2022 the arena, then referred to as PalaOlimpico, hosted the two semi-finals and the final of the Eurovision Song Contest, which came to Italy following the win by Måneskin and was hosted by Laura Pausini, Mika and Alessandro Cattelan; around four thousand people, including performers, technicians and journalists, worked on the event^[10].

The Inalpi name and the present day

In January 2024 the arena took on the name Inalpi Arena, under a five-year, renewable sponsorship agreement between Live Nation and the dairy company Inalpi, based in the Cuneo area; the deal was worth more than three million euros^[11]. The venue, at Via Filadelfia 82, remains managed by Parcolimpico, a company of the Live Nation group, and alternates concerts by Italian artists, musicals and major sporting and institutional events, including the opening ceremonies of the Special Olympics and the 2025 Summer Universiade^[12]. On 19 March 2026 it hosted a stop on Umberto Tozzi's farewell tour^[13].

On 16 July 2026 it was confirmed that the ATP Finals would stay in Turin for 2026 and 2027 as well, along with works that will raise tennis capacity above 13,500 seats and add four new courtside terraces and new hospitality areas^[14].

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