Menora Mivtachim Hall (also called “Yad Eliyahu Sports Hall”) is a basketball and entertainment stadium located in the Yad Eliyahu neighborhood of Tel Aviv. The hall has 10,383 seats, and hosts some of the most prominent sports, entertainment and conferences in Israel.
So if you are on your way to a Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball game, a music concert or maybe a conference – one thing is for sure: going to and finding parking near Yad Eliyahu is not a simple thing. In today’s post we are going to describe all the ways you can get to the stadium on matchday, where you should park and a few more tips worth knowing.
Yad Eliyahu Hall has been used for many years as the exclusive home ground of the Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball team, and was previously considered one of the best basketball home grounds in Europe. The hall consists of two levels (hall and gallery), each of which is divided into 12 gates.
Until the opening of the Jerusalem Arena in 2014, Menora Mivtachim Hall was the largest basketball stadium in Israel. Over the years various mass events have been held there, such as festivals, music concerts, Davis Cup tennis matches and various conferences.
Yad Eliyahu Stadium – History
Yad Eliyahu Stadium was built in 1963 as an open field without a roof, part of a sports complex that also included a wave pool. At the time the lot was tiled, and contained only about 5,000 seats on concrete stands (which now form the lower block of seats).
In the late 1960s, the stadium underwent a thorough renovation, and in practice was rebuilt. The upper stand was added to the structure, which raised the number of seats to about ten thousand, in addition to the metal roof that made the lot a closed hall.
At the same time, buffets, additional bathrooms with an air-conditioning system, lighting suitable for television photography and an innovative entrance lobby were built on the site – and with the completion of the works by 1971, Yad Eliyahu was one of the most sophisticated sports facilities in Europe at the time.
The Josef Burstein Sports Hall, as it was officially named (after the deputy mayor of Tel Aviv at the time), is often known by its unofficial name “Yad Eliyahu Sports Hall” (after the Yad Eliyahu neighborhood in which it is located).
A sponsorship agreement between the Tel Aviv Municipality and Nokia changed its name to the “Nokia Stadium”, and as of 2014 it is called the “Menora Mivtachim Stadium” after the company paid about twenty million NIS for the sponsorship.
Parking at the Menora Mivtachim Hall
There are usually no special parking problems during matches or events in Yad Eliyahu. Also because the neighborhood offers a variety of options to find street parking, but also in light of the amount of parking (for a fee) near the hall.
The main car park located right next to the hall is fully accessible to the disabled and offers about 1,200 parking spaces for private vehicles, and another 30 parking spaces for the disabled. Scattered around the hall are five additional parking lots that include about 3,300 additional parking spaces and allow maximum comfort for visitors.
For those coming from the north
On Ayalon heading south, get off at the La Guardia interchange and turn left. Continue straight until the traffic light of La Guardia Street with HaMa’apilim Street and turn left onto HaMa’apilim Street. At the end of the boulevard, turn right or left onto Wingate Street and enter the parking lots of the Tel Aviv-Jaffa sports halls.
Another option – in Ayalon South, get off at the Shalom interchange and turn left onto Ammunition Hill Street. At the intersection of Ammunition Hill, Yigal Alon and Derech Hashalom, turn right onto Yigal Alon Street. Continue straight until 3rd Street and turn right. At the first square, turn left to enter the parking lot of the Tel Aviv-Jaffa sports halls.
For those coming from the south
On Ayalon North, get off at the La Guardia interchange and turn right. Continue straight until the traffic light of La Guardia Street with HaMa’apilim Street and turn left onto HaMa’apilim Street. At the end of the boulevard, turn right or left onto Wingate Street and enter the parking lot of the Tel Aviv-Jaffa sports halls.
Another option – on Ayalon North, get off at the Shalom Interchange and turn right onto Givat Hatachmoshet Street, and again right onto Yigal Alon Street. Continue straight until 3rd Street and turn right. At the first square, turn left to enter the parking lot of the Tel Aviv-Jaffa sports halls.
Public Transportation to Menora Mivtachim Hall
If you do not feel like looking for parking near Yad Eliyahu – and we completely understand you – there is still some hope. The hall was built in a relatively central location and close to transportation arteries, and therefore can be reached relatively easily by city buses or trains.
By Bus
The following lines stop near Yad Eliyahu Hall:
- Line 239: Meriding (Tel Aviv-Yafo) to the Pilots neighborhood (Tel Aviv-Yafo)
- Line 7: University Train (Tel Aviv-Yafo) to Wolfson (Holon)
- Line 9: Meriding (Tel Aviv-Yafo) to the Pilots neighborhood (Tel Aviv-Yafo)
- Line 31: From Carmelit Terminal (Tel Aviv-Yafo) to Bnei Brak Cemetery (Bnei Brak)
- Line 104: Meriding (Tel Aviv-Yafo) to Sheba (Ramat Gan)
- Line 52: From a new central station (Tel Aviv-Yafo) to Atidim terminal (Tel Aviv-Yafo)
- Line 34: From a new central station (Tel Aviv-Yafo) to Dovek (Bnei Brak)
- Line 54: From a new central station (Tel Aviv-Yafo) to a new central station (Tel Aviv-Yafo)
By Train
There are two train stations that are within walking distance of the hall. The Hashalom station in Tel Aviv is about a 15-minute walk on Yigal Alon Street (the station is north of the Heichal). The Tel Aviv Hahagana station is a 15-minute walk from the south (via Hahagana streets, Sderot Hachayal, Yigal Alon).
Remember – You would need a Rav Kav card to board the buses & trains.
Alternative Transportation
There are 163 motorcycle parking spaces in the Menora Mivtachim plaza (at the entrance to the parking lot, on the side of Hashlosha Street, in the plaza on the side of Wingate Street, on Nirim Street 1 and on Hashlosha Street 7). In addition, next to the box office building there is a bicycle parking facility (about 20 stands) and a selection of “Tel-Ofan” stands scattered around.
For more articles in the series: About Sammy Ofer Stadium in Haifa, Bloomfield in Tel Aviv and Toto Turner Stadium in Beer Sheva.
In Conclusion – Yad Eliyahu Stadium
Yad Eliyahu Stadium is located in the heart of the busiest area in the country, and with the biggest parking problems. On the other hand, it certainly offers quite a few good public transportation options. On days of a big match the traffic to it is going to be high, so it is advisable to plan your departure times well in advance, and try to optimize and fill a whole vehicle coming in.