郑州体育馆

Zhengzhou Gymnasium at 1 Renmin Road in the Guancheng Hui District sits just north-east of Erqi Square and was built as a centrepiece for the first National Youth Games in 1985. Ground was broken on 1 August 1984 and the building was completed on 30 August 1985 on a 2,860-square-metre footprint with 7,380 square metres of floor area. It is square in plan with a frame structure and a 41.5-metre-span truss roof, and four spectator entrances open on the east and west sides. The interior has two levels. Above is the competition hall, laid out north-south with a timber floor 40 by 25 metres and a clear height of 12.24 metres; 3,038 suspended seats run along the east and west sides. It stages basketball, volleyball, five-a-side football, handball, table tennis, badminton, gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, fencing, martial arts, weightlifting, wrestling, judo and cultural performances. Below are VIP, team and referee rooms, stores and electrical plant. For the 11th National Traditional Games of Ethnic Minorities in 2019 the city spent more than 40 million yuan on a full renovation: the facade became grey, interior walls were finished in bamboo-wood fibre board, lighting and seating were renewed, some space was converted into a media centre, changing rooms and referee rooms, and the sound system was upgraded to concert standard. In May 2023 the gymnasium was merged with Zhengzhou Hanghai Stadium and Zhengzhou Tennis Center to form the Zhengzhou Sports Venue Support Center. It now opens free or at low charge from 7 am to noon and 2 pm to 6 pm, while a fitness garden of about 500 square metres with 71 pieces of equipment on the east and south sides is open around the clock. Metro Lines 1 and 3 stop at Erqi Square, with Line 1 also at Renmin Road.