PalaLottomatica, formerly known as Palazzo dello Sport or PalaEUR, is a multi-purpose sports and entertainment
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 ...
in
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
. It is located in the heart of the well known modern
EUR
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 ...
complex. The arena hosted the
1960 Olympic basketball tournaments.
The venue features 8 meetings points, a restaurant for 300 people, and a 2,700 square metre (3,229 sq. yard) outdoor terrace. It has a
seating capacity
Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...
of 11,200 spectators for basketball games. The PalaLottomatica Rome, together with
Mediolanum Forum
Mediolanum Forum (originally the Forum di Assago, formerly the FilaForum and DatchForum) is an indoor sports arena that is located in Assago, a small town 3 km outside Milan, Italy. The arena has a seating capacity of 12,700 and is primarily use ...
of Milan, is a member of the
European Arenas Association (EAA).
History
Palazzo dello Sport was designed by architect
Marcello Piacentini
Marcello Piacentini (8 December 1881 – 19 May 1960) was an Italian urban theorist and one of the main proponents of Italian Fascist architecture.
Biography
Born in Rome, he was the son of architect Pio Piacentini. When he was only 26, he was ...
, in 1957, and its reinforced concrete dome was engineered by
Pier Luigi Nervi
Pier Luigi Nervi (21 June 1891 – 9 January 1979) was an Italian engineer and architect. He studied at the University of Bologna graduating in 1913. Nervi taught as a professor of engineering at Rome University from 1946 to 1961 and is known wor ...
. It was constructed in two years, from 1958–1960, in time for the
1960 Summer Olympics
The 1960 Summer Olympics ( it, Giochi Olimpici estivi del 1960), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad ( it, Giochi della XVII Olimpiade) and commonly known as Rome 1960 ( it, Roma 1960), were an international multi-sport event held ...
. The facility was designed and built along with a smaller facility, the
Palazzetto dello Sport
The Palazzetto dello Sport (literally "Small Sport Palace"), also less commonly known as the PalaTiziano[EUR
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 ...](_blank)
", the arena was renamed to "PalaLottomatica", with the name of
Lottomatica
International Game Technology PLC (IGT), formerly Gtech S.p.A. and Lottomatica S.p.A., is a multinational gambling company that produces slot machines and other gambling technology. The company is headquartered in London, with major offices in ...
coming from the main sponsor that financed the arena's modernization work, from 1999 to 2003.
Modernization of the arena
The arena was renovated between 2000 and 2003. It was made more functional, especially in terms of acoustics, in order to be able to accommodate important musical events. Other changes were made to the original aesthetics of the stadium, particularly the night lighting of its exterior. That was done by adding glazing to the "tabellone della tombola", with numbers dramatically illuminated behind the glass.
The remodeled arena became could seat up to 11,200 spectators. The structure was modified to accommodate multiple sporting events (including internal competitions of, for example, the pro basketball club
Pallacanestro Virtus Roma
Pallacanestro Virtus Roma, commonly known as Virtus Roma, was an Italian professional basketball club based in Rome, Lazio. It competed in the first division of Italian basketball, the LBA, for the last time in the 2020–21 season.
It was form ...
), concerts, conferences, and theatrical events.
Events hosted
The arena hosted the
1960 Olympic basketball tournaments, the
EuroBasket 1991
The 1991 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1991, was the 27th FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship, held by FIBA Europe. It was held in Italy between 24 and 29 June 1991. Eight national teams entered the eve ...
and the
1997 EuroLeague Final Four. It is currently the home arena of the Italian professional
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 ...
team
Lottomatica Roma
Pallacanestro Virtus Roma, commonly known as Virtus Roma, was an Italian professional basketball club based in Rome, Lazio. It competed in the Italian basketball league system, first division of Italian basketball, the Lega Basket Serie A, LBA, fo ...
.
In 1997, the PalaLottomatica hosted the
EuroLeague Final Four
The EuroLeague Final Four is the final four format championship of the European-wide top-tier level EuroLeague professional club basketball competition. The Euroleague Basketball Company used the final four format for the first time in 2002, f ...
(in the final,
Olympiacos
Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σύνδεσμος Φιλάθλων Πειραιώς, Olympic Club of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number ...
defeated
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
, by a score of 73–58), and the final stage of the 2005 Men's European Volleyball Championship, hosting the final between Italy and Russia. An audience of over 14,000 spectators was disappointed, due to a 3–2 comeback victory in Italy, after a thrilling game that lasted over two hours. The
WWE
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vari ...
held a show at the arena on November 7, 2008.
The PalaEUR was also a venue of the
1978 and
2010 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championships, as well as the
2014 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship. The venue was also named the host of the
2016–17 CEV Champions League Final 4 of volleyball, on April 29 and 30, 2017, which followed the prior hosting rights to the 2011 event.
Many artists have performed at the Palazzo dello Sport / PalaLottomatica since the late 1960s and early 1970s: among them, the
Rolling Stones in 1970,
Depeche Mode several times since 1987,
the Cure
The Cure are an English rock band formed in 1978 in Crawley, West Sussex. Throughout numerous lineup changes since the band's formation, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter Robert Smith has remained the only constant member. The band's ...
,
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...
,
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...
,
Dire Straits Bon Jovi, and many others.
In 1975, a
Lou Reed concert was cancelled because of turmoil between the police and groups of people who were protesting against the high prices of concert tickets; because of that turmoil, the Palazzo dello Sport was seriously damaged, and foreign artists refused to perform in Italy for the next five years, until
Bob Marley
Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements o ...
performed in Milan in 1980.
AC/DC performed a show at the arena in May 1996, during their
Ballbreaker World Tour
The Ballbreaker World Tour was a concert tour played by the Australian hard rock band AC/DC, in support of their thirteenth studio album '' Ballbreaker'', which was released on 26 September 1995. This tour had 5 legs around the world lasting ...
. This arena also hosted an
Avril Lavigne concert, during her
The Black Star Tour
Canadian recording artist Avril Lavigne has completed six concert tours beginning with the Try to Shut Me Up Tour in 2002–03. This was followed by the 13-month Bonez Tour in 2004–05 and The Best Damn World Tour in 2008. Her ongoing Love Sux ...
, on September 10, 2011.
Lana Del Rey
Elizabeth Woolridge Grant (born June 21, 1985), known professionally as Lana Del Rey, is an American singer-songwriter. Her music is noted for its cinematic quality and exploration of tragic romance, glamour, and melancholia, with frequent r ...
has performed twice at the arena, in 2013 during her
Paradise Tour
The Paradise Tour was the second concert tour by American singer, Lana Del Rey, in support of her third extended play, ''Paradise''. The tour kicked off on April 3, 2013 at Galaxie Mega Hall in Amnéville, France and visited many major Europea ...
and in 2018 during her
LA to the Moon Tour
The LA to the Moon Tour was the fourth headlining concert tour by American singer Lana Del Rey, in support of her fifth studio album and fourth major-label studio album, Lust for Life (Lana Del Rey album), ''Lust for Life'' (2017). The tour began ...
.
Ariana Grande performed at the arena in 2017 during her
Dangerous Woman Tour
The Dangerous Woman Tour was the third concert tour and the second arena tour by American singer Ariana Grande in support of her third studio album, '' Dangerous Woman'' (2016). It traveled across North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia and O ...
.
The first artist to perform after the modernization of the arena and its renaming to PalaLottomatica was
Santana
Santana may refer to:
Transportation
* Volkswagen Santana, an automobile
* Santana Cycles, manufacturer of tandem bicycles
* Santana Motors, a former Spanish automobile manufacturer
Boats
* Santana 20, an American sailboat design by W. D. Sch ...
, in 2003.
On 9 December 1989, the final draw for the
1990 FIFA World Cup was held at the Palazzo.
See also
*
Norfolk Scope
Norfolk Scope is a multi-function complex in Norfolk, Virginia, comprising an 11,000-person arena, a 2,500-person theater known as Chrysler Hall, a exhibition hall and a 600-car parking garage.
The arena was designed by Italian architect/engin ...
*
List of indoor arenas in Italy
The following is a list of indoor arenas in Italy with capacity for at least 4,000 spectators. Most of the arenas in this list are multi-purpose venues, used for individual sports, team sport as well as cultural and political events.
Currently i ...
References
External links
Romeguide.it - PalaLottomatica Italian website
{{Authority control
Basketball venues in Italy
Indoor arenas in Italy
Massimiliano Fuksas buildings
Pier Luigi Nervi buildings
Modernist architecture in Italy
Olympic basketball venues
Olympic boxing venues
Rome Q. XXXII Europa
Sports venues completed in 1960
Sports venues in Italy
Sports venues in Rome
Venues of the 1960 Summer Olympics
Volleyball venues in Italy