Einstein Arena is the new home of Hapoel Tel Aviv, which entered it after eight years of travelling. Arik Einstein was a legendary Israeli singer that died in November 2013, and a famous Hapoel fan. The city council didn’t announce the name officially, so currently the name is “Drive In” (there used to be a Drive-in where the arena stands now), but the fans already decided.

Eight years ago the team was reestablished after the last arena was ruined and the former owner deteriorated the team into bankruptcy. The new Hapoel was in a form of community, where every member pays an annual fee and gets a stock. Full transparency, clear rules about how the team should be managed and no rich owner that can decide whatever he wants.

The new arena can host up to 3,500 fans, and it reaches its capacity almost every game. As a member and a season ticket holder, I can assure you that Hapoel fans are the best in supporting their team. Dozens of songs, everybody cheers, the players get applauses no matter if the team is losing or winning, and when there is a win there is a huge celebration.

The best atmosphere is in the derby games against Maccabi Tel-Aviv. It’s hard to get a ticket for this event, so my advice is to try to get some of the tickets that the away team gets.