Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium

Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium

Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium (大阪府立体育会館, Ōsaka furitsu taiikukaikan) is an indoor sporting arena located in Namba, Osaka, Japan. It first opened in 1952 and the current building was constructed in 1987. It is the venue of a professional sumo tournament (honbasho) held in March every year. The capacity of the arena is 8,000 people. Its total revenue for the 2006 fiscal year was 260 million yen, of which sumo provided 80 million.

In April 2008 the Japan Sumo Association made clear its surprise at plans by the prefectural government to demolish the gymnasium and sell the vacant lot.

In March 2012, the arena was renamed Bodymaker Colosseum (ボディメーカー コロシアム, Bodimēkā koroshiamu) after the naming rights were sold to sports apparel company BB Sports for the next three years. The name was changed back in April 2015, when BB Sports did not renew their deal. In June 2015, the Edion Corporation signed a three-year deal for the arena's naming rights, renaming it Edion Arena Osaka (エディオンアリーナ大阪, Edion Arīna Ōsaka).

Cultural references

• The Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium is featured in the manga/anime series Fighting Spirit (Hajime no Ippo) as one of the venues the boxers fight at. It is also included in the video game adaptation of the series, Victorious Boxers.

Access

• Namba Station - Nankai Electric Railway (250m from South Exit), Osaka Municipal Subway (350m from Exit 5)
• Ōsaka Namba Station - Kintetsu Namba Line, Hanshin Namba Line (600m)
• JR Namba Station - West Japan Railway Company (JR West) Kansai Main Line (Yamatoji Line) (800m)

External links

• Official website (Japanese)