PAOK Sports Arena

Infobox_Stadium
stadium_name = PAOK Sports Arena
nickname = "Palataki


caption = PAOK Sports Arena.
location = Pylea, Thessaloniki, Greece
broke_ground = March 18th, 1990
opened = 2000
owner = PAOK BC
tenants = PAOK BC, PAOK VC
seating_capacity = 8,650

"PAOK Sports Arena" (in Greek: Κλειστό γήπεδο ΠΑΟΚ) is located in Thessaloniki, Greece and it hosts the PAOK BC and PAOK VC departments of PAOK. It is one of the most modern and beautiful multi-purpose venues in the world. It is in a suburb called Pylea, located about 7 kilometers away from the city center. 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 PAOK BC holds an annual tournament in his honor. It has 8,650 seats for fans and guests and has 502 parkings spots. The PAOK volleyball department PAOK VC had to wait until 2002 to begin using the stadium.

Directions to the stadium

[http://www.paokbc.gr/map_2_big.jpgMap and location of arena.]

The arena is located south of the city of Thessaloniki, Greece 7 km from the centre, in a suburb called Pylea. Access by car: exit the city towards the airport and then turn left at the traffic lights to the "PAOK Sports Centre". The arena lies 300 m off the junction, on a small hill. Access by bus: use any of #69, #72 or #76 from central Egnatia St. After a 30min ride, they all stop near the previously mentioned traffic lights.

Construction of PAOK Sports Arena

PAOK BC had to wait 10 years from the laying of the foundation (on March 18th, 1990) and 12 years from the time Ioannis Dedeoglou donated the land (June 17th, 1988) until the stadium was ready. Ioannis and his brother Thanasis Dedeoglou first began the dream of a major European stadium in Thessaloniki in 1991, by giving the lot to PAOK and also by PAOK BC managing to be the first Greek team to win the European Cup Winner's Cup, which helped to spur the progect. On December 11th, 1991 reports were saying that the stadium would have 6,000 seats. But another major problem was the expropriations that had to be done. On September 7th, 1995, more problems occurred because of an increase in the cost. Then on October 30th, 1996, another remediation took place and it allowed for an increase to 8,650 seats and a proposal to entrust Thessaloniki to host the Euroleague Final Four. This increased the pressure to complete the stadium. On March 17th, 1999, FIBA Europe gladly accepted the offer and the construction increased speedily until the arena was finished. The outcome was that the stadium was not only ready to host the Final Four (on the 18th and 20th of April), but also three weeks earlier it hosted the Greek Cup Final Four (on the 1st and 2nd of April).

Records

The first game that took place inside the stadium was the first semifinal game between AEK Athens BC and Amarousiou. AEK won and went on to take the Cup, but it was PAOK player Anatoli Zurbenko that made the first basket inside PAOK Sports Arena. It was 47 days later on March 17th, 2000, that the first game with PAOK took place against Panathinaikos BC. The tickets started to sell quickly, along with the souvenir t-shirts. PAOK might have lost that game (and the Greek Championship), but everyone wanted to see the new stadium of PAOK BC. The club and fans turned out to be the winners by acquiring the marvelous new stadium and the way in which it would become an integral part of the club's modern history.

Ioannis Dedeoglou Tournament

First Ioannis Dedeoglou Tournament

The first tournament took place in 2004 and four teams competed. They were KK Hemofarm, Panathinaikos BC, PAOK BC, and Ulker. The first games took place on September 24th, 2004, in which Panathinaikos won against Hemofarm 83-79 and PAOK beat Ulker 77-57. The very next day Hemofarm vs. Ulker and PAOK vs. Panathinaikos were going to decide who would earn the final positions. Hemofarm beat Ulker 84-74 for its third place finish and PAOK beat Panathinaikos in a close game 79-76 for first place.

Second Ioannis Dedeoglou Tournament

The second tournament was held in September 2005. The teams that participated were AEK, FC Barcelona, Red Star Belgrade, and PAOK. The first day of the tournament fans got to see a Greek derby between PAOK and AEK, which PAOK won 77-72. The next game of the day took place between Barcelona and Red Star, in which Barcelona won 77-67. The following day, AEK was put against Red Star and lost 54-75. The final was a real feast for the eyes, it finished with both teams tied at 87 points; it was a great game in which Barcelona ended up beating PAOK in overtime 102-101.

Euroleague 2000 Final Four

PAOK Sports Arena was able to host the Euroleague Final Four in 2000, during the Euroleague's inaugural year.

Breakdown of Matches

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Final

*Panathinaikos Athens (GRE) - Maccabi Tel-Aviv (ISR) 73-67

Third place

FC Barcelona - Efes Pilsen 69-75

emi-Finals

*Panathinikos Athens (GRE) - Efes Pilsen (TUR) 81-71
*Maccabi Tel-Aviv (ISR) - FC Barcelona (ESP) 65-51

External links

* [http://www.stadia.gr/paok/paok-gr.html Info on the arena at stadia.gr]