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The 'Athens Olympic Sports Complex' 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.

Contents

Venues

Olympic Indoor Hall

Athens Olympic Aquatic Centre

Athens Olympic Tennis Centre

Athens Olympic Velodrome

Olympic Stadium

Transportation to/from the Venue

External link

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 is 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 Marousi. 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 19,200 for the basketball games, though only 12,500 seats were made publicly available for the gymnastics. Construction of the building was completed on June 30, 2004, and it was officially opened on August 10, 2004, shortly before the beginning of the games. It is notable for the distinctive A-frame roof.
The Indoor Hall is now 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 was 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 Euroleague Final Four, the semifinal and final rounds of Europe's principal club competition in basketball, which saw hometown favorite Panathinaikos win the title.

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 was later scrapped, leaving the athletes and most of the fans without shade during the events; however, during the course of the games, there were no major complaints made by the athletes 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 US 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

''Main article:- Olympic Stadium (Athens)''
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 home of Panathinaikos and AEK, two major 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), 'Β7' (Kaniggos - Kifissia - N. Kifissia), '602' (N. Ionia - Kalogreza - Panormou Metro Station), '550' (P. Faliro - Kifissia), '441' (Irakleio Metro Station - Halandri - Aghia Paraskevi)]

External link

★ Official site