Morača Sports Centre ( Montenegrin: ''Sportski centar Morača'', Спортски центар Морача) is a multi-sports venue that is located in

Podgorica Podgorica ( cnr-Cyrl, Подгорица; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Montenegro, largest city of Montenegro. The city is just north of Lake Skadar and close to coastal destinations on the Adriatic Sea. Histor ...

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

. The venue is located in the new part of Podgorica, on the right bank of Morača River, after which it got its name. Construction of the sports complex began in 1978, and various sporting facilities are scattered within it, across a five

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), that is, square metres (), and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. ...

area. Besides being a sports venue, Morača Sports Centre also hosts various concerts and events.

History

The new venue was inaugurated with a friendly basketball game between the Yugoslav national team and

Wichita State University Wichita State University (WSU) is a public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 areas of study in ...

. The complex's main indoor hall hosted six preliminary-round games of EuroBasket 2005. The venue underwent a major refurbishment for the tournament in order to meet the arena standards imposed by

FIBA The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French language, French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. FIBA defines the rules of basketball, specifies the Basketball equipment ...

. With the immense growth of the popularity of

water polo Water polo is a competitive sport, competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the water polo ball, ball into the oppo ...

in Montenegro, two brand new open-air swimming pools were added to the facility in 2009, which also hosted the 2009

FINA Water Polo World League The FINA Water Polo World League was an international water polo league organized by FINA (now World Aquatics), which played annually, typically from winter through to June. League play featured continental tournaments for men and women, from wh ...

. In 2018, the arena's main hall underwent renovations and expansion, in order to meet the arena standards of the

EuroLeague The EuroLeague is a European men's professional basketball club competition. The league is widely recognised as the top-tier and the most prestigious men's basketball league in Europe. The league consists of 20 teams, of which 16 are given lon ...

. Its

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 ...

was increased to 6,000, and VIP lounges were also added. The cost of the renovation project was €4.5 million

euro The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...

s.RENOVIRANJE SC MORAČA.
/ref> Also, former indoor pool arena (which was in disrepair and unused for over a decade) was repurposed as a basketball / volleyball / handball hall, with seating capacity of 2,200. The venue will host the 2022 European Women's Handball Championship for the preliminary rounds.

Facilities

The sports complex's main indoor hall serves as the primary multi-purpose

indoor arena An arena is a large enclosed venue, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, Music, musical performances or Sport, sporting events. It comprises a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for specta ...

in Podgorica. It is best known as home arena of SD Budućnost Podgorica's

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 (appro ...

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

and

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball, Olympic handball or indoor 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 thr ...

teams. * Main Hall (capacity 6,000 seats in the stands) * Bemax Hall (capacity 2,200 seats in the stands) * Olympic size (50m x 25m) open-air swimming pool (capacity 1,900 seats in the stands) *

Water polo Water polo is a competitive sport, competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the water polo ball, ball into the oppo ...

size (33,40m x 25m) indoor pool (capacity 664 seats in the stands) *

Combat Sports A combat sport, or fighting sport, is a contact sport that usually involves one-on-one combat. In many combat sports, a contestant wins by scoring more points than the opponent, submitting the opponent with a hold, disabling the opponent (''knocko ...

Hall *

Sauna A sauna (, ) is a room or building designed as a place to experience dry or wet heat sessions or an establishment with one or more of these facilities. The steam and high heat make the bathers perspire. A thermometer in a sauna is used to meas ...

Table Tennis Table tennis (also known as ping-pong) is a racket sport derived from tennis but distinguished by its playing surface being atop a stationary table, rather than the Tennis court, court on which players stand. Either individually or in teams of ...

Hall * Business facilities (restaurant, gym) * Media room * Outdoor

futsal Futsal is a variant of association football played between two teams of five players each on a court smaller than a football pitch. Its rules are based on the Laws of the Game (association football), Laws of the Game of association football, and i ...

court * Outdoor

running track An all-weather running track is a rubberized, artificial running surface for track and field athletics. It provides a consistent surface for competitors to test their athletic ability unencumbered by adverse weather conditions. Historically, v ...

Sporting events hosted

* EuroBasket 2005 Group B * 2011–12 EHF_ Women's Champions League Final * SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix I 2012 * 2022 European Women's Handball Championship Group D

Concerts and other events

References

External links

Reconstruction of the Sports Center MoračaRENOVIRANJE SC MORAČA
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moraca Sports Center Basketball venues in Montenegro Handball venues in Montenegro Sports venues in Podgorica Indoor arenas in Montenegro Volleyball venues in Montenegro Sports venues completed in 1978 1978 establishments in Yugoslavia KK Budućnost Yugoslav Montenegrin architecture 1970s establishments in Montenegro