Peace and Friendship Stadium

Στάδιο Ειρήνης και Φιλίας
ΣΕΦ
Location Neo Faliro, Piraeus, Greece
Coordinates 37°56′32.91″N 23°40′02.27″E / 37.9424750°N 23.6672972°E / 37.9424750; 23.6672972Coordinates: 37°56′32.91″N 23°40′02.27″E / 37.9424750°N 23.6672972°E / 37.9424750; 23.6672972
Owner Greek State
Operator Olympiacos
Capacity Basketball:
11,600[1]
(permanent seating)
12,000
(including court-side seats - current for Olympiacos games)
14,776
(all collapsible bleachers in use)
14,940
(all collapsible bleachers in use, plus court-side seats)
16,000–17,000
(full configuration of the arena - during EuroBasket 1987)
Volleyball:
13,200
(during the 2004 Athens Summer Olympics)
Indoor athletics: 10,520
Surface Parquet
Construction
Broke ground 1983
Opened February 16, 1985[2]
Renovated 2002–2004
Construction cost € 25 million (1983)
Renovation:
€ 7.3 million (2002–2004)
Architect Thimios Papagiannis
Tenants
Olympiacos[3]

The Peace and Friendship Stadium, commonly known by its acronym SEF (Greek: Στάδιο Ειρήνης και Φιλίας, transliterated as Stadio Eirinis kai Filias) is a multi-purpose indoor arena that is located in Piraeus, on the coastal zone of Attica, Greece. The arena is mostly known for being the home to EuroLeague team Olympiacos, and is the central venue of the Faliro Coastal Zone Olympic Complex. The arena also contains a training facility. It opened in 1985.

History

The Peace and Friendship Stadium opened in 1985,[4] and its construction cost was €25,000,000 in 1983 prices. It was designed by the architectural firm "Thymios Papagiannis and Associates". The arena is built opposite to the Karaiskakis Stadium in Piraeus, located in the western end of the Phaleron Bay, in the coastal zone of Attica. It was inaugurated on February 16, 1985, at the first Panhellenic Athletics Indoor Championship, and hosted the 1985 European Athletics Indoor Championships in March.[5]

In 1991, the arena won the Golden Award from IAKS, the International Association for Sports and Leisure Facilities.[4]

Since the 1991–92 season, the Peace and Friendship Stadium has been the home court to Greek League and EuroLeague professional basketball club Olympiacos. The arena was closed from April 2002, to early 2004, for renovation works, at a total cost of €7,300,000, and hosted the indoor volleyball tournament during the 2004 Summer Olympics.[6] For 2001-02 they moved to the Glyfada Arena.[7]

The arena's total capacity varies, depending on the collapsible bleachers used in the lower level, besides its 11,600 permanent seating in the mid and upper levels.[1] The Peace and Friendship Stadium seats up to 14,776 for basketball games, with all the bleachers in use.[7]

Olympiacos and Orléans warm up before a Euroleague game at the Peace and Friendship Stadium, in October 2009.
13,200 seat configuration during the 2004 Athens Summer Olympics Volleyball Tournament.

Other uses

The arena is occasionally used for events like congresses, music concerts, and indoor motocross races. It is also capable to accommodate ice skating events, although it has never been used as an ice skating venue. The Scorpions, Phil Collins, Dire Straits, Status Quo, UB40, Gloria Estefan, Deep Purple, and Placebo, are among the artists who have performed at the Peace and Friendship Stadium.

Outside the main arena, in the same stadium building, there is a 942-seat amphitheater, and various other halls of a total area of 16,048 sqm, where exhibitions and congresses take place.[8]

Transportation

The Peace and Friendship Stadium is located in the Neo Faliro area of Piraeus, on the coastal Poseidonos Avenue, and at the end of the Kifissou Avenue. It is 2 km away from the port of Piraeus. It sits on a major transportation hub, next to the Faliro metro station on Athens Metro Line 1, and the SEF station, the terminus of Athens Tram.

Notable events hosted

See also

References

  1. 1 2 The Peace and Frienship Stadium.
  2. ↑ Λίγα Ιστορικά στοιχεία (Greek).
  3. ↑ "Olympiacos Piraeus". Euroleague Properties. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
  4. 1 2 "Peace and Friendship Stadium". Mondo Spazio. Retrieved April 4, 2013.
  5. ↑ History (Greek)
  6. ↑ 2004 Summer Olympics official report. Volume 2. p. 421.
  7. 1 2 "Olympiacos B.C. move". stadia.gr. October 13, 2001. Retrieved April 29, 2013.
  8. ↑ Stadium Presentation Brochure.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Peace and Friendship Stadium.
Events and tenants
Preceded by
Scandinavium
Gothenburg		 European Indoor Championships in Athletics
Venue
1985 		Succeeded by
Palacio de Deportes de la CAM
Madrid
Preceded by
Patinoire des Vernets
Geneva		 FIBA European Champions Cup
Final Venue
1985 		Succeeded by
Budapest Sportcsarnok
Budapest
Preceded by
Schleyerhalle
Stuttgart		 FIBA EuroBasket
Final Venue
1987 		Succeeded by
Dom Sportova
Zagreb
Preceded by
Palais des Sports
Grenoble		 FIBA European Cup Winners' Cup
Final Venue
1989 		Succeeded by
Palasport di Firenze
Florence
Preceded by
Abdi İpekçi Arena
Istanbul		 FIBA European League
Final Four
Venue
1993 		Succeeded by
Yad Eliyahu Sports Hall
Tel Aviv
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 9/30/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.