The Spyros Kyprianou Athletic Center (

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

: Αθλητικό Κέντρο "Σπύρος Κυπριανού"), also known as Spyros Kyprianou Sports Centre, Spyros Kyprianou Arena and Palais des sports, is an indoor arena located in

Kato Polemidia Kato Polemidia ( gr, Κάτω Πολεμίδια; tr, Aşağı Binatlı) is a municipality of Cyprus, located in the district of Limassol. It has a population of 22,369 according to the 2011 census. History The area of Kato Polemidia has be ...

, a district of

Limassol Limassol (; el, Λεμεσός, Lemesós ; tr, Limasol or ) is a city on the southern coast of Cyprus and capital of the district with the same name. Limassol is the second largest urban area in Cyprus after Nicosia, with an urban population ...

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

. Opened in late 2005, it is named after the late president of Cyprus,

Spyros Kyprianou Spyros Achilleos Kyprianou ( el, Σπύρος Κυπριανού; 28 October 1932 – 12 March 2002) was one of the most prominent politicians and barristers of modern Cyprus. He served as the second president of Cyprus from 1977 to 1988. S ...

History

This project was conducted by the Cyprus Sports Organisation and was constructed north of the city of

near

and by the side of LimassolTroodos road. Construction of the project began in late 2002 and was completed at the end of 2005 at a total cost of approximately CY£8.5 million.

Events

The centre already hosted major sports events like the

FIBA Europe FIBA Europe is the administrative body for basketball in Europe, within the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), which includes all 50 national European basketball federations. In reaction to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, FIBA Euro ...

all-star game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or div ...

in 2006 and 2007. It also played host to the

Cyprus Rally The Cyprus Rally is a rallying competition held yearly in Cyprus since 1970. The event is run by the Cyprus Automobile Association and is based in the city of Limassol (Lemesos). It is run on the winding roads of the nearby mountains of Troödos ...

headquarters in 2005 and 2006. The arena itself hosted the media and rally organisers while the parking lot was the area for the competing WRC teams. The arena hosted the

Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2008 The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2008 was the sixth edition of the annual Junior Eurovision Song Contest, which is the world's largest song contest for children. It was held at the "Spyros Kyprianou" Athletic Centre in Lemesos, Cyprus and hoste ...

. The shuttle of the centre can host more than 6,255 spectators and at least 42

wheelchair A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, used when walking is difficult or impossible due to illness, injury, problems related to old age, or disability. These can include spinal cord injuries ( paraplegia, hemiplegia, and quadriplegia), cerebr ...

spots. Moreover, the centre is used especially for the sport events of local schools in Limassol greater area. The arena will host one group stage of the 2025 FIBA EuroBasket. For that purpose, plans to expand the arena's capacity from 6,700 to a 9,600 seater have been approved.

References

External links

*
Official website
{{Authority control Athletics (track and field) venues in Cyprus Basketball venues in Cyprus Sports venues in Cyprus Indoor arenas in Cyprus Music venues in Cyprus Nea Salamis Famagusta VC Buildings and structures in Limassol District