The Hellinikon Olympic Indoor Arena was a multi-use sports
indoor arena that was located in
Elliniko
Elliniko ( el, Ελληνικό, meaning "Greek") is a coastal suburb of Athens, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it is part of the municipality Elliniko-Argyroupoli, of which it is a municipal unit. Elliniko is known for the Hell ...
,
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
,
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...
. It was a part of the
Hellinikon Olympic Complex, and it was located adjacent to the
Helliniko Fencing Hall. It was approximately 10 miles from the
Athens Olympic Village. It was built on the site of the former
Hellinikon International Airport for the
2004 Summer Olympics and the
2004 Summer Paralympics
)
, nations = 136
, athletes = 3,806
, events = 519 in 19 sports
, opening = 17 September
, closing = 28 September
, opened_by = President Costis Stephanopoulos
, cauldron = Georgios Toptsis
, stadium = Olympi ...
.
The arena had in use its full seating capacity of 15,000 spectators for
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
,
and 13,500 for
handball during the 2004 Summer Olympic Games. However, only 12,500 seats were made available to the public
for the basketball tournament, and only 10,700 for the handball tournament. After the Olympics, only the lower tier 8,500 seats have been made available by the arena's owners for public use. However, the arena can still hold 15,000 for basketball with the upper tier in full use. The arena was also known as the National Athletic Center Elliniko "Makis Liougas".
It was demolished in 2022.
History
![Helliniko indoor arena athens](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/86/Helliniko_indoor_arena_athens.JPG)
Construction
The facility, which was built by Michaniki and EllisDon Construction Corporation was completed on May 31, 2004, and officially opened on July 30, 2004. It was built to be one of the most
NBA-like arenas in Europe at the time. It was converted into a basketball arena by converting the old
Athens Airport aircraft repair hangar of the
Olympic Airways
Olympic Airlines ( el, Ολυμπιακές Αερογραμμές, ''Olympiakés Aerogrammés'' – OA), formerly named Olympic Airways for at least four decades, was the flag carrier airline of Greece. The airline's head office was located ...
airline that had closed in the year 2001. The metal frame of the arena was the only part of the structure that remains from the original building. This was done to save in costs for both land and construction. The cost of the project was about
€
The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists ...
49 million
euro
The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...
s in 2003.
2004 Olympics
The arena hosted the
basketball preliminary games and the
handball finals.
2004 Summer Olympics official report.
Volume 2. pp. 273, 349. During the 2004 Summer Paralympics
)
, nations = 136
, athletes = 3,806
, events = 519 in 19 sports
, opening = 17 September
, closing = 28 September
, opened_by = President Costis Stephanopoulos
, cauldron = Georgios Toptsis
, stadium = Olympi ...
, it was also the venue used for wheelchair rugby
Wheelchair rugby (originally murderball, and known as quad rugby in the United States) is a team sport for athletes with a disability. It is practised in over twenty-five countries around the world and is a summer Paralympic sport.
The US na ...
.
Greek Basket League
The arena has been used as a home arena, at one time or another, of the Greek Basket League
The Greek Basket League (GBL), often also referred to as the Greek A1 Basketball League, or Greek Basketball Championship (originally called Panhellenic Basketball Championship), and also known as the Stoiximan Basket League for sponsorship reaso ...
basketball teams Panionios
Panionios G.S.S. Football Club (Greek: ΠΑΕ Πανιώνιος Γ.Σ.Σ.), the ''Pan- Ionian Gymnastics Club of Smyrna'' (Πανιώνιος Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Σμύρνης, ''Panionios Gymnastikos Syllogos Smyrnis'') ...
, Panellinios and AEK Athens
A.E.K ( el, AEK , formally Αθλητική Ένωσις Κωνσταντινουπόλεως; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople''), known as A.E.K, is a major Greek multi-sport club based in Nea Filadel ...
. It also hosted several finals matches of the Greek Cup
The Greek Football Cup ( el, Κύπελλο Ελλάδος Ποδοσφαίρου), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Kypello Elladas is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation.
The Greek Cup is the second most ...
.
See also
* List of indoor arenas in Greece
References
Olympicproperties.gr profile.
External links
@ Stadia.gr
Builders' Website
@ Ellisdon.com
{{A.E.K. (sports club)
Basketball venues in Greece
Buildings and structures completed in 2004
Handball venues in Greece
Arena
An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators ...
Indoor arenas in Greece
Olympic basketball venues
Olympic handball venues
Panionios B.C.
Venues of the 2004 Summer Olympics