Thursday, February 11 2016 10:33

Sports and Concert Complex after Karen Demirchyan has been nationalized again, according to the Government's decision on February 11 2016.  

Introducing the draft decision Deputy Minister of Defense Ara Nazaryan said the document suggested to cancel the decision dating August 13 2015 on sale of the given non-commercial organization on the balance of the Defense Ministry to NTAA Investment Group LLC. The Government adopted such decision after the buyer failed to implement its commitments under the contract made on September 1 2015.  Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan suggested transferring the government share and the property of the Sports and Concert Complex from the balance of the Defense Ministry to the Agency for State Property Management. He charged relevant structures to prepare the draft decision for the next meeting of the government.
It was reported earlier on August 13 that Yerevan's Sport and Concert Facility after Karen Demirchyan has been sold to a certain NTAA Investment Group LLC for US$30 million.

The project is to be implemented within 4 years with the investment of 100 mln USD.  Under the contract, the buyer was to reconstruct the building, create a complex of hotels and a closed aquapark for family leisure time, as well as concert halls, restaurants, shops and a casino. As many as 350 new workplaces were to open. 
Karen Demirchyan Sports and Concerts Complex, also known as Demirchyan Arena, Sports & Music Complex, or simply Hamalir (for complex in Armenian), is a large sports and concert complex located on Tsitsernakaberd hill which dominates over the western parts of Yerevan, near the Hrazdan River gorge. The complex consists of two main halls; the Concerts hall and the Sports hall, in addition to the large foyer, Hayastan conference hall and Argishti hall designated for diplomatic meetings, exhibitions and other events. 

The complex was opened in 1983 but forced to close within a year and a half after a fire in 1985. A renovation process took place until the end of 1987 when it was ready again to host concerts and sport events.  The complex was designed by a group of Armenian architects: A.  Tarkhanian, S. Khachikyan, G.  Pogosyan and G. Mushegyan. The construction process was supervised by engineers: Hamlet Badalyan (chief engineer) and I. Tsaturian, A. Azizian and M. Aharonian.  In 1990 Ian Gillan's band has played concerts there. 32nd Chess Olympiad also took place at Demirchyan complex.  In 1999, shortly after the assassination of the former speaker of the Armenian parliament Karen Demirchyan in the Armenian parliament shooting, the complex was renamed in honour of him, for his contribution in the construction and the renovation of the complex during the Soviet era.  On October 9, 2005, the complex was sold for US$ 5.7 million. The contract was signed between the Armenian Government and the Russian BAMO Holding Company. Murad Muradian, an Armenian from Moscow, the head of the BAMO holding, attempted to gain the support of Yerevan citizens who were hesitant about the privatization of the building.