AFAS Dome, Concert hall in Merksem, Belgium
The AFAS Dome is an elliptical indoor arena measuring 132 by 88 metres, with two floors and a roof spanning 11,600 square metres. Its roof is covered in alternating light blue and white stripes, with rows of small dark windows and the words "AFAS Dome" in blue on a white band. The facade below is plain light grey-blue, and a white sign reading "Olympic" sits at the lower left.
Construction began on 11 January 1932 and the arena opened on 11 September 1933, built by the Apostel-Mampaey family from Boom, velodrome builders active from 1907 until the Second World War. The hall measured 132 by 88 metres with a free-spanning roof of 11,600 m² and held a 250-metre wooden cycling track under the stands. Damaged in the Second World War, it later broadened its programme to shows and concerts; the track was removed in the 2011–2013 renovation.
The name Sportpaleis was used until 1 September 2025, when the arena became the AFAS Dome. Since 1985 the Night of the Proms classical concert series has been held here annually, and the venue hosted the Diamond Games women's tennis tournament from 2002 to 2008. In 2017 the youth channel Ketnet celebrated its 20th birthday with the Throwback Thursday concert series.
The arena sits beside the Antwerp ring road in Merksem, near the Schijnpoort boundary with Borgerhout. The hall is elliptical with two floors; numbered blocks and colour-coded zones guide visitors to seats and the standing area on the central floor. The Lotto Arena stands right next door.
The arena's roof was replaced in 2010, swapping the old green covering for an ecological blue one and changing the building's silhouette. The blue-and-white striped roof now carries the words "AFAS Dome" along its forward edge, a name adopted on 1 September 2025 after 92 years as the Sportpaleis.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 93,406 contributors worldwide.
