Athens Olympic Sports Complex

Athens Olympic Sports Complex
OAKA
Full name	Olympic Athletic Center of Athens "Spiros Louis"
Location	Maroussi, Athens, Greece
Renovated	2000-2004 (Olympic Games)
Owner	Greek Government
Architect	Santiago Calatrava (Revamping)

The Olympic Athletic Center of Athens "Spiros Louis" or OACA (Greek: OAKA), is a sport facilities complex located at Marousi, northeast Athens, Greece. The complex consists of five major venues as well as other supplementary sport facilities.

The Olympic Athletic Center of Athens has hosted the Mediterranean Games in 1991, the World Championship in Athletics in 1997 as well as other important athletic and cultural events. The most significant event the Athens Olympic Sports Complex has hosted, was the Olympic Games. OACA was the main venue for the Athens Olympic Games in 2004. The complex has been revamped for the games under a design produced by the Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava.

Venues

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 the home ground of AEK Athens FC and Panathinaikos FC, 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.

Olympic Indoor Hall

Main article: 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.

Athens Olympic Aquatic Centre

Main article: Athens Olympic Aquatic Centre

Athens Olympic Velodrome

Main article: Athens Olympic Velodrome

Athens Olympic Tennis Centre

Main article: Athens Olympic Tennis Centre

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)].

Legacy

While it was reported in 2008 that almost all of the Olympic venues utilized 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, all of the facilities in the Athens Olympic Sports Complex are still in use today.^[1][2]

The table below illustrates how the Athens Olympic Sports Complex facilities are used today:

Facility	Olympics Use	Current Use
Olympic Stadium (OAKA)	Opening & Closing Ceremonies, Track & Field, Football	Home pitch for Panathinaikos FC,[3] AEK FC[4] (football; Greek Super League, UEFA Champions League), Greek national football team (some matches), International football competitions (e.g. the 2007 UEFA Champions League Final);[5][6] Track & Field events (e.g. IAAF Athens Grand Prix[7]), Concerts
Athens Olympic Indoor Hall	Basketball, Gymnastics	Home court for Panathinaikos BC[8] (Greek basketball league, Euroleague); Greek National Basketball Team(Acropolis Tournament), International basketball competitions (e.g. the Euroleague final in 2007, Eurovision 2006, and the 2008 FIBA Olympic Basketball Qualifying Tournament,[9]) Concerts
Athens Olympic Aquatic Centre	Swimming, Diving, Synchronized Swimming, Water Polo	Domestic and international swimming meets,[10][11][12] Public pool[13]
Athens Olympic Tennis Centre	Tennis	Domestic and international tennis matches,[14][15] Status Athens Open[16]
Athens Olympic Velodrome	Cycling	Domestic and international cycling meets[17]

References

1. ^ Malone, Andrew (2008-07-18). "Abandoned, derelict, covered in graffiti and rubbish: what is left of Athens' £9billion Olympic 'glory'". The Daily Mail. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1036373/Abandoned-derelict-covered-graffiti-rubbish-What-left-Athens-9billion-Olympic-glory.html. Retrieved 2008-08-25. 
2. ^ "After The Party: What happens when the Olympics leave town". London: Independent.co.uk. 2008-08-19. http://www.independent.co.uk/extras/features/after-the-party-what-happens-when-the-olympics-leave-town-901629.html. Retrieved 2009-05-16. 
3. ^ Atoll Impressions,www.atoll.gr. "Παε Παναθηναϊκοσ::::Η Παε::::". Pao.gr. http://www.pao.gr/category.php?category_id=39. Retrieved 2009-05-16. ^{[dead link]}
4. ^ "AEK F.C. Official Web Site". Aekfctickets.gr. http://www.aekfctickets.gr/stadium.asp. Retrieved 2009-05-16. 
5. ^ McNulty, Phil (2007-05-23). "BBC SPORT | Football | Europe | AC Milan 2-1 Liverpool". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/europe/6669039.stm. Retrieved 2009-05-16. 
6. ^ "2007 UEFA Champions League Final - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia". En.wikipedia.org. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_UEFA_Champions_League_Final. Retrieved 2009-05-16. 
7. ^ "Athens Grand Prix 2008". Tsiklitiria.org. http://www.tsiklitiria.org/. Retrieved 2009-05-16. ^{[dead link]}
8. ^ "Panathinaikos Bc::::Εδρα::::". Paobc.gr. http://www.paobc.gr/category_subcategories.php?category_id=83. Retrieved 2009-05-16. 
9. ^ http://www.athens2008.fiba.com/
10. ^ "Ολυμπιακό Αθλητικό Κέντρο Αθηνών". Oaka.com.gr. http://www.oaka.com.gr/articles_list.asp?e_lang_id=0&e_cat_serial=001011001001005003&e_cat_id=342. Retrieved 2009-05-16. 
11. ^ "Ολυμπιακό Αθλητικό Κέντρο Αθηνών". Oaka.com.gr. 2008-03-22. http://www.oaka.com.gr/articles_list.asp?e_lang_id=0&e_cat_serial=001011001001005010&e_cat_id=341. Retrieved 2009-05-16. 
12. ^ "Ολυμπιακό Αθλητικό Κέντρο Αθηνών". Oaka.com.gr. 2006-07-16. http://www.oaka.com.gr/articles_list.asp?e_lang_id=0&e_cat_serial=001011001001005&e_cat_id=321. Retrieved 2009-05-16. 
13. ^ "Ελλάδα: Σβησμένα φώτα στις ολυμπιακές εγκαταστάσεις". E-tipos.com. 2007-11-30. http://www.e-tipos.com/newsitem?id=47588. Retrieved 2009-05-16. 
14. ^ "Ολυμπιακό Αθλητικό Κέντρο Αθηνών". Oaka.com.gr. http://www.oaka.com.gr/articles_list.asp?e_lang_id=0&e_cat_serial=001011001001009&e_cat_id=325. Retrieved 2009-05-16. 
15. ^ "Athens Tennis Academy". Athenstennisacademy.gr. http://www.athenstennisacademy.gr. Retrieved 2009-05-16. 
16. ^ "April 17–25 at O.A.K.A.". Status Athens Open. http://www.statusathensopen.gr/default.asp?pid=53&la=2. Retrieved 2010-04-24. 
17. ^ "Ολυμπιακό Αθλητικό Κέντρο Αθηνών". Oaka.com.gr. http://www.oaka.com.gr/articles_list.asp?e_lang_id=0&e_cat_serial=001011001001008&e_cat_id=324. Retrieved 2009-05-16. 

• 2004 Summer Olympics official report. Volume 2. pp. 201, 207, 227, 231, 242, 273, 303, 324, 329, 346, 409.

External links

• Official site
• Olympic Indoor hall info and pictures at stadia.gr

Coordinates: 38°02′19″N 23°47′09″E / 38.03861°N 23.78583°E / 38.03861; 23.78583