Alexandrio Melathron
Encyclopedia
Alexandreio Melathron also called Palais des Sports (Παλαί ντε Σπορ), is an indoor sports arena located in Thessaloniki
, Greece
, with a capacity of 5,500. The arena hosts the home games of Aris BC
, member of the Greek League
.
The updates involved reconstruction of all the building's external and internal areas. Apart from what is directly visible to everybody, other works included new electromechanical, air-conditioning and audiovisual facilities. New seats, CCTV
and new lighting were also installed.
These updates unfortunately resulted in a lower capacity (5,500 compared to the previous 6,000) for "Alexandreio" Arena, which reopened its gates in late 2004.
The arena is named after Alexander the Great, the ancient king of Macedon
ia. It is also commonly referred to as the "Palais des Sports" (Sports Palace, in French
). Alexandreio was the first and biggest indoor basketball arena built in Greece, and remained the biggest until the year 1985, when the Peace and Friendship Stadium
in Athens
was completed and opened to the public.
Being part of the Thessaloniki International Trade Fair, the arena also serves for many purposes other than sports. It has hosted many international basketball events and was also the home ground for both "arch-rivals", Aris BC
and PAOK BC
for many years; up until the year 2000, when PAOK BC
moved into their own new stadium, the PAOK Sports Arena
.
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, with a capacity of 5,500. The arena hosts the home games of Aris BC
Aris BC
Aris Basketball Club is the professional basketball team of the Thessaloniki-based Greek sport club Aris Thessaloniki. Aris BC was founded in 1922, eight years after the founding of Aris Thessaloniki....
, member of the Greek League
A1 Ethniki
The Greek Basket League , commonly referred to as the Greek Basketball League or Greek Basketball Championship, is the highest professional basketball league in Greece. It is run by HEBA...
.
Location
The Alexandreio indoor arena is situated in the city centre of Thessaloniki, in the city's International trade fare grounds. Bus lines #2, #7, #8, #10, #14, #27, #31, and #58, running along Egnatia avenue stop right in front of the arena.Construction
The arena was built in 1966 and was rapidly redeveloped and updated in 2004 in preparation for the Athens 2004 Olympic Games.The updates involved reconstruction of all the building's external and internal areas. Apart from what is directly visible to everybody, other works included new electromechanical, air-conditioning and audiovisual facilities. New seats, CCTV
Closed-circuit television
Closed-circuit television is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors....
and new lighting were also installed.
These updates unfortunately resulted in a lower capacity (5,500 compared to the previous 6,000) for "Alexandreio" Arena, which reopened its gates in late 2004.
History
Macedon
Macedonia or Macedon was an ancient kingdom, centered in the northeastern part of the Greek peninsula, bordered by Epirus to the west, Paeonia to the north, the region of Thrace to the east and Thessaly to the south....
ia. It is also commonly referred to as the "Palais des Sports" (Sports Palace, in French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
). Alexandreio was the first and biggest indoor basketball arena built in Greece, and remained the biggest until the year 1985, when the Peace and Friendship Stadium
Peace and Friendship Stadium
The Stadio Eirinis kai Filias , known as S.E.F., is a multi-use indoor sports arena that is located in Faliro, Piraeus, Athens, Greece. It is the central venue of the Faliro Coastal Zone Olympic Complex and is mostly known for being the long-time home court of the famous Euroleague basketball club...
in Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
was completed and opened to the public.
Being part of the Thessaloniki International Trade Fair, the arena also serves for many purposes other than sports. It has hosted many international basketball events and was also the home ground for both "arch-rivals", Aris BC
Aris BC
Aris Basketball Club is the professional basketball team of the Thessaloniki-based Greek sport club Aris Thessaloniki. Aris BC was founded in 1922, eight years after the founding of Aris Thessaloniki....
and PAOK BC
PAOK BC
P.A.O.K. Thessaloniki B.C. is the professional basketball department of the Greek multi-sports club P.A.O.K., originally founded in 1926 and is based in Thessaloniki, Greece. The club has established a firm reputation in Greek sports, especially for its success in European leagues...
for many years; up until the year 2000, when PAOK BC
PAOK BC
P.A.O.K. Thessaloniki B.C. is the professional basketball department of the Greek multi-sports club P.A.O.K., originally founded in 1926 and is based in Thessaloniki, Greece. The club has established a firm reputation in Greek sports, especially for its success in European leagues...
moved into their own new stadium, the PAOK Sports Arena
PAOK Sports Arena
P.A.O.K. Sports Arena is located in Thessaloniki, Greece and it hosts the P.A.O.K. B.C. and P.A.O.K. V.C. departments of P.A.O.K. It was opened in the year 2000 and in the same year it hosted the Euroleague and Greek Cup final-fours. It is built on land donated by Ioannis Dedeoglou, for which...
.
