PalaLeonessa

THE ARENA

Designed in the late 1950s to host the Brescia Trade Fair, in 1972 it became the home of Basket Brescia, a role it maintained until 1991. After a long period of closure, the structure was completely renovated between 2017 and 2018 to host Basket Brescia Leonessa games starting in the 2018-2019 season. The official inauguration was held on September 21, 2018, followed a few days later by the Italian Men's Basketball Super Cup, the first national event hosted in the new facility.

Originally inaugurated on May 21, 1967, on the occasion of the Brescia Industrial Exhibition, the PalaEIB — named after the Ente Iniziative Bresciane (Brescia Initiatives Agency) — was designed by engineer Franco Cremaschini. The structure, nicknamed “Ciambellone” (ring cake) due to its circular shape with a diameter of 93 meters, featured an innovative self-supporting system made of metal cables. From the 1970s onwards, the arena became a lively multi-purpose center, hosting basketball games and concerts that attracted large audiences: artists who performed there included Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath, King Crimson, Fabrizio De André, PFM, and Vasco Rossi.

After years of neglect, in 2012 Immobiliare Fiera, the owner of the property, began talks with the Municipality of Brescia to bring sporting activities back to the facility. The redevelopment project, designed by architect Eliseo Papa, was approved in 2015 and included a new façade.

The work, which began on February 27, 2017, was completed in the summer of 2018.

The PalaLeonessa was officially presented to the public in May 2018, attracting over two thousand visitors on its opening day alone. The new logo was unveiled on June 18, 2018, while ownership passed to the Municipality of Brescia on September 28 of the same year. Inside the arena, there is a curve dedicated to the memory of Marco Solfrini, a symbolic figure in Brescia basketball.