The Athens Olympic Sports Complex
or OACA
(OAKA
in Greek), which stands for Olympic Athletic Center of Athens
is the central group of facilities for the 2004 Summer Olympics. The complex has been revamped for the games under a design produced by the Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava. It is situated at Marousi, northeast Athens, Greece.
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Venues
The complex consists of five different venues:
Olympic Indoor Hall
The
Olympic Indoor Hall
(also known simply as the
Indoor Hall
) was completed in
1995 and was the largest indoor venue in use for sporting events at the
2004 Summer Olympics in
Athens, Greece. It is part of the Athens Olympic Sports Complex, in the suburb of
Maroussi. The
arena was used for
artistic gymnastics and
trampolining and also hosted the finals of the
basketball matches at the games.
The arena seats up to 17,500 for the gymnastics events and up to 18,800 for the basketball games (of which 2,000 are folding, and 300 media seats)
[1] though only 12,500 seats were made publicly available for the gymnastics. Renovation of the building was completed on
June 30,
2004, and it was officially reopened on
August 10,
2004, shortly before the beginning of the games. It is notable for the distinctive
A-frame roof.
The Indoor Hall is the regular home court for the
Panathinaikos basketball club.
On
May 18 and
20,
2006 the Olympic Indoor 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 semi final and the grand final. On
4 and
6 May,
2007, the Indoor Hall hosted the
2007 Euroleague Final Four, the semifinal and final rounds of Europe's principal club competition in basketball, which saw hometown favorite Panathinaikos win the title.
On
December 9 2007,
FIBA announced that the Olympic Indoor Hall was selected as the host of
Olympic Qualifying wildcard tournament for the
2008 Olympic men's basketball tournament.
[2] At the Qualifying tournament, hosts and favorites
Greece, alongside with the
German and
Croatian national basketball teams, had qualified for the final tournament.
[3]
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Athens Olympic Aquatic Centre
The
Olympic Aquatic Centre
is a complex at the Athens Olympic Sports Complex, consisting of two outdoor pools and one indoor pool, that was built for the
1991 Mediterranean Games. It was refurbished and expanded for the
2004 Summer Olympics. The larger of the outdoor pools, which seats 11,500 spectators, hosted
swimming and
water polo events. The smaller pool, which hosted
synchronized swimming, sat 5,300 fans. The indoor pool, which hosted the
diving events, sat 6,200 observers.
The outdoor pool was the subject of significant controversy during the run-up to the Olympic games. A roof was planned that would have shielded the swimmers from the blazing Athens sun. This feature was later scrapped, leaving the athletes and most of the fans without shade during the events; however, during the course of the games, no athletes made major complaints regarding the facility, nor was there any mention of the lack of a roof affecting athletes' performances - in fact, many Olympic and world records were broken and/or set in this
FINA-approved, world-class venue.
Athens Olympic Tennis Centre
The
Olympic Tennis Centre
is a grouping of 16 tennis courts at the Athens Olympic Sports Complex. It hosted the
tennis matches at the
2004 Summer Olympics in
Athens, Greece. The centre consists of a main
stadium, known as the
Main Court
, seating 8,600 fans - though only 6,000 seats were made publicly available during the Olympics - two semifinal courts seating 4,300 spectators - though only 3,200 seats were made publicly available during the Olympics - and thirteen side courts seating 200 observers each. The centre was completed in February
2004 and officially opened on
August 2,
2004.
Each of the courts use the
DecoTurf cushioned acrylic surface, the same surface as the
U.S. Open Grand Slam event. The Main Court, in particular, was extremely large by the standards of major tennis competitions, with the seats relatively far removed from the tennis court.
Athens Olympic Velodrome
The
Olympic Velodrome
is a
stadium at the Athens Olympic Sports Complex, built in 1991 for the Mediterranean Games. It was extensively refurbished in order to host the
track cycling events at the
2004 Summer Olympics in
Athens, Greece. The stadium, which seats 5,250 - though only 3,300 seats were made publicly available for the games - has distinctive twin roofs covering the stands on each side, designed by
Santiago Calatrava. The track, made of
Afzelia wood, is 250 m. long and 7.5 m. wide. Construction of the stadium was completed on
May 30,
2004, and it was officially opened on
July 30,
2004.
Olympic Stadium
The stadium, built in 1982 and refurbished in 2004, hosted the
athletics events and the
soccer final, as well as the
Opening Ceremony on
August 13,
2004 and the
Closing Ceremony on
August 29,
2004.
It is currently used as the home ground of
AEK and
Panathinaikos, two of the biggest football clubs in Greece.
The stadium was originally built in
1982 and was extensively refurbished for the games, including the addition of a roof.
Transportation to/from the Venue
The Athens Olympic Sports Complex can be reached by
Metro [stations "
Neratziotissa" and "Irini" of
Metro Line 1
(Green Line)], by suburban train (
Proastiakos
station "Neratziotissa"), or by direct bus lines [
A7
(Kaniggos - Kifissia - N. Erythraia),
?7
(Kaniggos - Kifissia - N. Kifissia),
602
(N. Ionia - Kalogreza - Panormou Metro Station),
550
(P. Faliro - Kifissia),
441
(Irakleio Metro Station - Halandri - Aghia Paraskevi)]
Legacy
In 2008 it was reported that almost all of the Olympic venues utilised for the 2004 games, including certain facilities in the Sports Complex such as the velodrome and tennis center, have fallen into varying states of dereliction or disrepair.
[4] [5] However, other facilities see continued use for events or by the public.
References
- Olympic Indoor Sports Center- Indoor Basketball Arena
- PR N°58 - Meeting of the FIBA Central Board in Chicago FIBA.com
- Germany basketball clinches Olympic berth
- Abandoned, derelict, covered in graffiti and rubbish: what is left of Athens' £9billion Olympic 'glory'
- After The Party: What happens when the Olympics leave town