O.A.C.A. Olympic Indoor Hall

O.A.C.A. Olympic Indoor Hall
Nikos Galis Olympic Indoor Hall; Athens Olympic Indoor Hall
Full name	O.A.C.A. Indoor Sports Center
Location	Athens Olympic Sports Complex, Marousi, Athens, Greece
Coordinates	38.037862°N 23.784676°E
Public transit	Eirini
Owner	Greek Government
Operator	Panathinaikos Athens;
Capacity	Gymnastics: 17,600; Basketball: 19,443
Surface	Parquet
Construction
Opened	1994
Renovated	2002–2004 (Olympic Games); 2016
Architect	Santiago Calatrava (renovation)
Tenants
	Greece national basketball team; Panathinaikos Athens;

The O.A.C.A. Olympic Indoor Hall (honorarily named Nikos Galis Olympic Indoor Hall since 2016), which is a part of the Olympic Athletic Center of Athens (O.A.C.A.) «Spyros Louis» (Greek: O.A.K.A. «Σπύρος Λούης»), was completed in 1994, and is the largest indoor venue in Greece and was used for sporting events at the 2004 Summer Olympics held in Athens, Greece. It is located in Marousi, in the north section of the city. During their construction and renovations was considered to be one of the biggest and most modern indoor sports arenas in all of Europe.

The 19,443-capacity arena also contains a training facility. Since 2016, it has been named after the well-known Greek former basketball player of Aris Thessaloniki and Panathinaikos Nikos Galis.[1]

Construction

Indoor Hall plan

Nikos Galis Olympic Indoor Hall is notable for its distinctive A-frame roof that features four huge pillars, each of which is 35 meters tall, that stand 108 meters apart from each other. According to the Greek Ministry of Sports,[2] it is the largest indoor sporting arena of its kind in the world. The arena is also constructed in a unique way so that an abundant amount of natural light comes into the arena during the day.[3]

The arena seats up to 17,600 for gymnastics events, although only 12,500 seats were made publicly available for the gymnastics competition at the 2004 Olympics. It seats up to 18,989 for basketball games, which includes 18,500 regular seats for the fans, 300 seats for the media members,[4] and 189 seats for VIPs.[5]

A large scale arena renovation was completed in 2004, for the 2004 Summer Olympics. The arena was then renovated again in 2016.[6]

2004 Summer Olympics

The arena was used for artistic gymnastics and trampolining, and also hosted the finals of the basketball matches at the 2004 Summer Olympics.[7] Renovation of the building for the Olympics was completed on 30 June 2004, and it was officially reopened on 10 August 2004, shortly before the beginning of the games.

Basketball use

The Indoor Hall is the regular home court for the Greek Basket League professional basketball club Panathinaikos. It is also the primary home court of the senior Greek National Basketball Team.

The arena was used to host the quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals stages of the 1998 FIBA World Championship. In addition, it was used as home court of Maroussi B.C. in some European games.

On 4 and 6 May 2007, the Indoor Hall hosted the EuroLeague 2006–07 season's Final Four, the semifinals and finals rounds of Europe's principal pro club competition in basketball, which saw hometown favourite Panathinaikos win the title.

On 9 December 2007, FIBA announced that the Olympic Indoor Hall was selected as the host of the 2008 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games.[8] At the qualifying tournament, hosts and favourites Greece, along with the German and Croatian national basketball teams, qualified for the final 2008 Olympic Basketball Tournament.[9]

On 5 April 2018, the Indoor Hall was announced as the venue of the 2018 Basketball Champions League Final Four, during which AEK Athens served as host.[10]

On 19 May 2022, the Greek government and basketball club Panathinaikos reached an agreement for the exclusive use of the OAKA Indoor Hall by the "Greens". The arena, along with its auxiliary facilities, will be granted from June 2023 for the next 49 years to Panathinaikos, with the club bearing its maintenance and operating costs. Both the Greek state and Panathinaikos have expressed the wish so as the Greek national basketball team continues to use the OAKA Indoor Hall as their home court.

Musical events

On 18 and 20 May 2006, the Hall hosted the 51st Eurovision Song Contest, that was held in Athens, after Greece's victory at the Song Contest in 2005. There were 15,000 seats available for spectators, both for the semifinal and the grand final.

Some of the entertainers who have performed at the arena include Maluma,Slayer,Rotting Christ, Pearl Jam, Enrique Iglesias, Depeche Mode, Jennifer Lopez, Björk, Beyoncé, Slayer, Shakira, Roger Waters, Aloha from Hell, Tokio Hotel, Helena Paparizou, Sakis Rouvas and Anna Vissi.

References

Επίσημο: Το ΟΑΚΑ μετονομάστηκε σε "Νίκος Γκάλης" (in Greek).
"Greek Ministry of Culture & Sports".
Stadia.gr Olympic Sports Hall.
Capacity: 18,500 spectator seats (of which 2,000 are folding) and 300 media seats.
Capacity: 18,989 (maximum capacity for basketball games).
Νέο παρκέ και αποδυτήρια στο ΟΑΚΑ (in Greek).
2004 Summer Olympics official report. Volume 2. pp. 273, 329, 346.
PR N°58 – Meeting of the FIBA Central Board in Chicago. FIBA.com
Germany basketball clinches Olympic berth.
"Athens to host Basketball Champions League Final Four". Championsleague.basketball. 5 April 2018. Retrieved 5 April 2018.

External links

Events and tenants
Preceded by Olympiahalle Munich	FIBA EuroBasket Final Venue 1995	Succeeded by Palau Sant Jordi Barcelona
Preceded by Palatrussardi Milan	FIBA Intercontinental Cup Final Venue 1996	Succeeded by Ginásio José Corrêa Barueri, São Paulo
Preceded by SkyDome Toronto	FIBA World Cup Final Venue 1998	Succeeded by Conseco Fieldhouse Indianapolis
Preceded by Palace of Sports Kyiv	Eurovision Song Contest Venue 2006	Succeeded by Hartwall Areena Helsinki
Preceded by Sazka Arena Prague	EuroLeague Final Four Venue 2007	Succeeded by Palacio de Deportes Madrid
Preceded by Santiago Martín La Laguna	FIBA Champions League Final Four Venue 2018	Succeeded by Sportpaleis Antwerp
Preceded by Fernando Buesa Arena Vitoria-Gasteiz	EuroLeague Final Four Venue 2020	Succeeded by TBD

38.037862°N 23.784676°E / 38.037862; 23.784676

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[1] Επίσημο: Το ΟΑΚΑ μετονομάστηκε σε "Νίκος Γκάλης" (in Greek).

[2] "Greek Ministry of Culture & Sports".

[3] Stadia.gr Olympic Sports Hall.

[4] Capacity: 18,500 spectator seats (of which 2,000 are folding) and 300 media seats.

[5] Capacity: 18,989 (maximum capacity for basketball games).

[6] Νέο παρκέ και αποδυτήρια στο ΟΑΚΑ (in Greek).

[7] 2004 Summer Olympics official report. Volume 2. pp. 273, 329, 346.

[8] PR N°58 – Meeting of the FIBA Central Board in Chicago. FIBA.com

[9] Germany basketball clinches Olympic berth.

[10] "Athens to host Basketball Champions League Final Four". Championsleague.basketball. 5 April 2018. Retrieved 5 April 2018.