Kaunas Sports Hall

Kaunas Sports Hall ( _lt. Kauno sporto halė) is the largest arena in the Žaliakalnis neighborhood of Kaunas, Lithuania. The arena's seating capacity is 5,000 people. Its length is 62.8 meters and its width is 61 meters.

The arena serves as the home court for Euroleague and LKL League participant Žalgiris. It generally hosts basketball games as well as concerts.

History

The arena was completed before the Third European Basketball Championship in 1939. The foundation was laid in December of 1938. All the steel constructions were finished by April 1939 and masonry work on May 10th of the same year. In December 2005, it underwent a minor reconstruction and added some 525 additional seats to reach the current capacity of 5,000. Until the year 2009 it will fit the criteria of the Euroleague relations for minimum seating requirements, but not after that when the minimum league requirement to accommodate fans increases to 10,000.

The plan to build a larger and modern arena like Siemens Arena in Vilnius will become reality before the year 2011, as Lithuania will host the 2011 European Basketball Championship. This arena will long be remembered as the hall where the Lithuanian national basketball team won their second consecutive Gold medal at the Eurobasket 1939.