Indoor Stadium Huamark in Bangkok has hosted FIVB World Grand Prix matches over the last three years
Lausanne, Switzerland, March 10, 2016 - The Indoor Stadium Huamark provides the ideal backdrop for the 2016 FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix Finals, following on from other international competitions held at the same venue. The 6,000 capacity arena hosts the World Grand Prix for a fourth consecutive year after welcoming Preliminary Round matches from 2013 to 2015.
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The stadium was built in 1966 for the 5th Asian Games and originally seated 15,000 spectators. After remodelling for the 2012 FIFA Futsal World Cup, the capacity was reduced to 6,000, although this can be expanded to 8,000 if necessary.
An aerial view of the Indoor Stadium Huamark
The stadium is next to Rajamangala National Stadium in Bangkok and takes around 30 minutes to get to from Suvarnabhumi International Airport. It is around 5 km from the Golden Tulip Sovereign Hotel, which will accommodate teams and officials during the Finals. The journey time from the hotel should be around 15 minutes.
The Indoor Stadium Huamark has been used for many world-class sporting events, including the 1998 Asian Games, the 2000 Thailand National Games, the 2005 Asian Indoor Games and the 2007 Summer Universiade.
It has also staged FIVB World Grand Prix matches for the last three years.
This year’s World Grand Prix Finals will feature the top five teams in Group 1 and hosts Thailand.
A total of 28 teams will participate in the 24th edition of the World Grand Prix, which will run from June 3 to July 10. The twelve teams participating in Group 1 will be: USA, China, Brazil, Russia, Japan, Serbia, Italy, Turkey, Germany, Thailand, Belgium and the Netherlands.
Group 1 will be played over three weekends: June 9-12, June 17-19 and June 24-26.
This year's edition of the World Grand Prix will take place in the immediate build-up to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, which will take place from August 5-21.
History
Built in 1966, the Indoor Stadium Huamark has served as a venue for the:
1998 Asian Games
2000 Thailand National Games
2005 Asian Indoor Games
2009 Asian Martial Arts Games
2007 Summer Universiade
2012 FIFA Futsal World Cup
2013 BWF World Junior Championships
2013 FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix
2014 FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix
2015 FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix
2016 FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix Group 1 Finals