Helliniko Arena
NEW arena for the 2004 Olympics
This new indoor arena will host the basketball preliminaries as well as the handball finals during the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. It has a capacity of about 14,500 spectators.
It is without a doubt the most "NBA-like" arena in Greece. Featuring a pretty large capacity and with its stands starting just off the basketball court, it is the first major Greek arena that does not also have an awkward vastness for spectators (as is the case with the Olympic Sports Hall or the Peace & Friendship Stadium). Note, however, that the capacity of the new Helliniko Arena will be reduced to approximately 8,000 after the Olympics, as most of the upper tier seating rows are temporary and are scheduled to be removed.
The new Helliniko Arena is a special case for yet another reason: it has been constructed in the old Athens airport, taking the place of the Olympic Airways major aircraft repairs hangar. The metal frame of the arena is the only thing that remains of the old shed, as you may see in the drawing on the right. Watching a basketball game there seems really strange in this way, thinking that Olympic Airways jumbo jets were being repaired there up until 2001, when the airport closed.
Access to Helliniko Arena is pretty simple, as it lies just off the coastal Possidonos Avenue. If you want to use public transport, there are many buses that serve the area of the old airport (e.g. A1 from Piraeus or A2 from Athens), however we urge you to use the new tram, which offers a beautiful ride along the coast. The old airport also hosts many other Olympic venues, namely those of baseball, softball, hockey, as well as the canoe-kayak slalom centre
The budgeted cost of the new arena (together with the smaller Olympic Fencing Hall that lies next to it) was € 48,992,055. Works for its construction commenced in early 2003 (by the joint venture of Michaniki and EllisDon) and were completed in May 2004. The arena was inaugurated on 4 June, during the Women's International Basketball Tournament. All photos on this page were shot then. You may view the last one, below, in full size by clicking on it.
The two plans of the arena featured above come from the website of EllisDon Construction.
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Helliniko Arena from the east (June 2004)
The VIP and Press seats of Helliniko Arena (June 2004)
Plans of the arena (from the east and north)   © ELLISDON CONSTRUCTION
The arena interior (June 2004)
A 3-D rendering of the arena   © ELLISDON CONSTRUCTION
Click to enlarge!