Alexandrio Melathron

Alexandrio Melathron is an Indoor sports arena located in Thessaloniki, Greece.With a 5,200 seating capacity [ [http://www.worldstadiums.com/europe/countries/greece.shtml Worldstadiums.com.] ] , the arena hosts the home games of the professional basketball team of Aris Thessaloniki of the Greek League and the Euroleague.

Location

The arena is located in Thessaloniki, about 500 kilometers north of Athens. Thessaloniki has an international airport, but you may also get there by train. Alexandrio is situated in the heart of the city, on the grounds of the International Trade Fair. To find the arena, just walk along Egnatia Street, which runs between the university campus and the fair and you will easily spot it. Getting there by bus is also very simple, as almost every city bus stops somewhere near the International Trade Fair and Alexandrio Arena.

Construction

The arena was built in 1966 and was rapidly redeveloped and updated in the year 2004 in preparation for the Athens 2004 Olympic Games. It was at that time that the state made it evident that the aging arena was in urgent need of something more than a simple face lift. This was decided in early 2003, and work on the updating process began a few months later.

The updates involved reconstruction of all of 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.

Nevertheless, all of these updates unfortunately resulted in a lower seating capacity (5,200 compared to the previous 5,576) for Alexandrio Arena, which reopened its gates in late 2004. Finally, it should be noted that Aris has been granted exclusive use of the arena until the year 2024, following a decision by the State.

History

The arena is named after Alexander the Great, the ancient king of Macedonia. It is also commonly referred to as "Palais des Sports" (Sports Palace, in French). Its shape is circular, but its stands are horseshoe-like. The reason for this is a small auxiliary basketball court behind one of the baskets. Alexandrio was the first big indoor basketball hall that built in Greece, and it remained the biggest until the year 1985, when the Peace and Friendship Stadium, which is the home of Olympiacos was constructed.

Being part of the International Trade Fair, the arena has also served for many purposes other than sports. It has also hosted many international basketball events. It was also the common home of both of the arch-rivals Aris Thessaloniki and PAOK Thessaloniki for many years. The games between the two local area clubs in Alexandrio were always something special. However, in the year 2000, PAOK moved into their new stadium the PAOK Sports Arena.

Ownership

Alexandrio Arena is owned by the General Secretariat of Sports.

Future

Aris owners are planning to build a new arena with a seating capacity of 15,700 people in order to meet the new Euroleague 10,000 seat minimum standards, which will start to apply from the 2010-2011 season onwards.

Notes

External links

* [http://www.stadia.gr/alexandrio/alexandrio.html Alexandrio Melathron] @ Stadia.gr