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The PalaDesio (full name: Palazzetto dello Sport di Desio, known for sponsorship reasons as PalaFitlineDesio) is an
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 spectator ...
located in Desio,
Lombardy (man), (woman) lmo, lumbard, links=no (man), (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , ...
,
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 ...
. Opened in 1992, the arena – with a capacity of 6,700 or 8,000 depending on the layout – has hosted a number of sporting and artistic events, chief of which have been
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
and
gymnastics Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, s ...
.


History

The construction of the PalaDesio took eighteen months and the arena was completed on 12 March 1992 for a cost of around 6 million lire. It was built to host
Aurora Desio An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...
, a
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
club that played in the second division Serie A2 (having also played in the first division priorly). The club would only play two seasons at the Banco Desio-sponsored arena, disappearing after the 1993-94 season (where it won the Serie A2) after selling its sporting rights. Aurora's demise would open a vacuum that the Desio municipality struggled to fill, women's basketball and volleyball clubs Feg Robbiano and Preca Moda Cislago played there, whilst guests such as the
Harlem Globetrotters The Harlem Globetrotters are an American exhibition basketball team. They combine athleticism, theater, and comedy in their style of play. Created in 1926 by Tommy Brookins in Chicago, Illinois, the team adopted the name ''Harlem'' because of ...
or a number of artists (
Vasco Rossi Vasco Rossi (born 7 February 1952), also known mononymously as Vasco or with the nickname Il Blasco, is an Italian singer-songwriter and poet. During his career, he has published 30 albums (not including unofficial releases) and has written over ...
, Litfiba, Ligabue, De Gregori,
Beppe Grillo Giuseppe Piero "Beppe" Grillo (; born 21 July 1948) is an Italian comedian, actor, blogger, and politician. He has been involved in politics since 2009 as the co-founder (together with Gianroberto Casaleggio) of the Italian Five Star Movement ...
, the Italian cast of the Les Dix Commandements) periodically visited but despite this and the presence of gymnastics organisations (see
gymnastics Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, s ...
) the venue remained unprofitable. Faced with upkeep costs of between €120,000 and €250,000 per year, the municipality tried to involve private event-managing companies without avail, an attempt to sell the arena in 2003 did not go through either. Another basketball club, neighbours Pallacanestro Cantù, used the arena to play in the 2011–12 Euroleague as the
Palasport Pianella Palasport Pianella is an indoor sporting arena that is located in Cucciago, Como, Italy. It has a capacity of 3,910 seats. History The arena was built in 1974. In the past, the capacity reached 5,500, but it was reduced due to a restructuring of ...
where they usually played did not meet Euroleague standards. It underwent a €130,000 refurbishment over the 2011 summer, with changes to the court, electrical installations and outside area that made it fall in line with the aforementioned standards. The PalaDesio hosted the Euroleague 2012–13 qualifying rounds, before again seeing Cantù play their Euroleague games there after they emerged victorious. They have also played domestic
Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Cop ...
games in Desio, including one game during the 2010-11 season, four more the next, then two local derbies against Vanoli Cremona and
EA7 Emporio Armani Milano Pallacanestro Olimpia Milano, commonly known as Olimpia Milano or as EA7 Emporio Armani Milan after its title sponsor, is an LBA Italian professional basketball team, based in Milan, Italy. Its colors are white and red, and the team is sometimes ...
in 2014-15. Milano themselves have played a handful of games at the arena when their Mediolanum Forum proved unavailable, with two league games in 2011-12 season, three the next season (of which a Euroleague game) and two
2014–15 Euroleague The 2014–15 Turkish Airlines Euroleague was the 15th season of the modern era of Euroleague Basketball and the fifth under the title sponsorship of the Turkish Airlines. Including the competition's previous iteration as the FIBA Europe Champi ...
games. It hosted the games of Power Volley Milano for the 2014-15 season, after which the club moved to Castellanza's PalaBorsani. In January 2015, Banco Desio - who had rescinded their
naming Naming is assigning a name to something. Naming may refer to: * Naming (parliamentary procedure), a procedure in certain parliamentary bodies * Naming ceremony, an event at which an infant is named * Product naming, the discipline of deciding wh ...
sponsorship about twenty years earlier - signed a new sponsorship agreement with the municipality that saw the arena re-become the PalaBancoDesio. The newly minted PalaBancoDesio played host to the 2015 Italian Basketball Cup between the 20th and 22 February.


Gymnastics

The arena started hosting
rhythmic gymnastics Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport in which gymnasts perform on a floor with an apparatus: hoop, ball, clubs, ribbon. The sport combines elements of gymnastics, dance and calisthenics; gymnasts must be strong, flexible, agile, dexterous and coord ...
club San Giorgio ‘79 in the early 2000s, with the Italian national rhythmic gymnastics team also making it their base from 2003. The relationship between San Giorgio - who had taken over the management (though not the costs) of the arena - and the municipality after the latter decided to launch a tender in September 2012 to find a new managing entity. San Giorgio accused the local authorities of trying to force them out, which was denied by the town's mayor and head of sports who claimed they wanted to keep them in place but that an arena of that size was unsuited for their sole use. The dispute, which partly stemmed from the organisation of basketball games in the venue, seemingly resolved itself when a new gym was projected to be built over 180 days from November 2013 to house all the gymnasts, thanks to funding from the Italian National Olympic Committee. It was the venue of the 2014 finals of the Italian
artistic gymnastics Artistic gymnastics is a discipline of gymnastics in which athletes perform short routines on different apparatuses. The sport is governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG), which designs the Code of Points and regulates ...
championships (the first and second divisions of both the women and men's tournaments). The event, organised by neighbouring club Pro
Carate Brianza Carate Brianza is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Monza and Brianza, Lombardy, northern Italy. The city lies at an elevation ranging from above sea level, on the Lambro river. History The history of Carate Brianza dates back to the St ...
, saw the national attendance record of the sport beaten with 5,700 tickets sold. Besides, it regularly hosts international rhythmic gymnastics meetings to prepare the national team, who train every day in Desio, for competitions.


Features

The total dimension of the circular arena is . It is high and under a dome with a diameter of . The arena has a basic capacity of 6,700 seats, which can be expanded to 8,000 if part of the court (around the playing court) is also used. It consists of three layers, the court-side (with two sets of bleachers, player's benches and VIP seats), first ring and second. The arena was seen as well-built, so much that the neighbouring municipality of
Monza Monza (, ; lmo, label= Lombard, Monça, locally ; lat, Modoetia) is a city and ''comune'' on the River Lambro, a tributary of the Po in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capital of the Province of Mo ...
asked - and obtained free of charge - for the building plans so that they copy them for their own arena.


See also

*
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

{{DEFAULTSORT:PalaDesio Basketball venues in Italy Buildings and structures in the Province of Monza and Brianza Indoor arenas in Italy Sports venues in Lombardy Sports venues completed in 1992 1992 establishments in Italy