Hapoel Tel Aviv is set to play its EuroLeague playoff series against Real Madrid in Botevgrad, Bulgaria, in a 4,500-seat arena.
Hapoel Tel Aviv are set to play their home EuroLeague playoff games in an unusual venue.
Hapoel IBI Tel Aviv / Schedule
The club has announced that Games 3 and 4, if needed, will be played in Botevgrad, Bulgaria.
Botevgrad is only the 48th-largest city in Bulgaria by population and has the 4,500-seat Botevgrad Arena, where Hapoel will host their home playoff games.
Hapoel Tel Aviv played most of its home games at the 12,000-seat 8888 Arena in Sofia, as it was unable to host games in Israel this season.
According to Sport 5, Hapoel Tel Aviv simply did not reserve the Sofia Arena in time for those dates, which is why the games were moved to Botevgrad.
Beyond the professional impact of playing in a new arena, Hapoel are also suffering a major hit to their expected revenue.
Hapoel would have earned over 2 million shekels (€571,895) per game in Sofia, meaning a potential 4 million shekels (€1,143,790) for two games.
In contrast, in Botevgrad, the income is expected to be around 800,000 shekels (€228,758) for both games.
Hapoel will start the series in Madrid, with Game 1 scheduled for April 29.
The full EuroLeague playoff schedule for all teams can be found here:
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