The Hellinikon Olympic Indoor Arena was a multi-use sports

indoor 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 ...

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 Helli ...

, Athens, Greece. It was a part of the

Hellinikon Olympic Complex The Hellinikon Olympic Complex is a closed, partially demolished sports complex, situated at Hellinikon in the south Athens, approximately 16 kilometres from the Olympic Village. It was built on the site of the former Hellinikon International Ai ...

, and it was located adjacent to the

Helliniko Fencing Hall The Hellinikon Fencing Hall was a multi-purpose indoor sporting arena that was located adjacent to the Hellinikon Olympic Arena, in Hellinikon, Athens, Greece. The venue was part of the Hellinikon Events Hall of the Hellinikon Olympic Complex. ...

. It was approximately 10 miles from the Athens Olympic Village. It was built on the site of the former

Hellinikon International Airport Ellinikon International Airport, sometimes spelled ''Hellinikon'' ( el, Ελληνικόν), was the international airport of Athens, Greece, for 63 years. It was replaced on 28 March 2001 by the new Athens International Airport ''Eleftherios ...

for the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

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 = Olympic ...

. The arena had in use its full seating capacity of 15,000 spectators for basketball, and 13,500 for

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the g ...

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

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 The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

-like arenas in Europe at the time. It was converted into a basketball arena by converting the old

Athens Airport Athens International Airport ''Eleftherios Venizelos'' ( el, Διεθνής Αερολιμένας Αθηνών «Ελευθέριος Βενιζέλος», ''Diethnís Aeroliménas Athinón "Elefthérios Venizélos"''), commonly initialised as ...

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 o ...

49 million euros 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

, it was also the venue used for wheelchair rugby.

Greek Basket League

The arena has been used as a home arena, at one time or another, of the Greek Basket League 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 Panellinios G.S. (Greek (language), Greek: Πανελλήνιος Γ.Σ.), full name, Panellinios Gymnastikos Syllogos (Greek (language), Greek: Πανελλήνιος Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος), is a Greece, Greek sports club, mult ...

and AEK Athens. It also hosted several finals matches of the Greek Cup.

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 Indoor arenas in Greece Olympic basketball venues Olympic handball venues Panionios B.C. Venues of the 2004 Summer Olympics