Lanxess Arena (originally Kölnarena, German for Cologne Arena) is an indoor arena, in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is known as the 18,500-capacity home of the Kölner Haie. The arena opened in 1998 and can accommodate 20,000 people for concerts. With its capacity of 18,500, it is the largest ice hockey arena outside North America. It is primarily used by Kölner Haie (ice hockey), VfL Gummersbach (handball), Köln RheinStars (basketball), and as a concert venue. The arena is spanned by a steel arch supporting the roof via steel cables. The height of the arch is and its weight is 480 tons. On June 2, 2008, it was announced that Kölnarena would be renamed Lanxess Arena, for a period of ten years. The sponsor, Lanxess AG, is a specialty chemicals group based in the Lanxess Tower in Deutz, Cologne. Concerts Lanxess Arena has been one of the top entertainment venues in Cologne since its opening. Many international artists have performed at the venue, spanning a wide range of music genres. Artists that have performed their concerts at the venue are listed in the table below. Sports events The arena was used for the 2007 World Men's Handball Championship, including the third place game and the final game. On June 13, 2009, the Ultimate Fighting Championships held UFC 99 at the Lanxess Arena. This was the first time the UFC has made its way to Germany. On May 29–30, 2010, the arena hosted the EHF Champions League Final Four. The arena was one of the venues for the 2010 IIHF World Championship, including both semi-finals, the Bronze medal game and the Championship game. On August 22–23, 2015, the arena hosted ESL One Cologne 2015, one of three major Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournaments to be held throughout 2015. On July 5–10, 2016, the arena hosted ESL One Cologne 2016, the second $1,000,000 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive major tournament. From May 5 to 21, 2017, the arena co-hosted the IIHF ice hockey world championship, including all the final games. On July 7–9, 2017, the arena hosted ESL One Cologne 2017, a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament with a prize pool of $250,000. From July 6 to 8, 2018, the arena hosted ESL One Cologne 2018. This event earned Lanxess Arena the nickname “The Cathedral Of Counter-Strike”. On October 8, 2018, the arena hosted an exhibition ice hockey game between Kölner Haie and the Edmonton Oilers, part