Hellinikon Olympic Complex

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Hellinikon Olympic Complex in 2019 Hellinikon olympic complex athens.jpg
Hellinikon Olympic Complex in 2019
External 2004 Olympic Rings in November 2018 External Olympic Rings - Athens 2004.jpg
External 2004 Olympic Rings in November 2018

The Hellinikon Olympic Complex is a closed, partially demolished sports complex, situated at Elliniko, a suburban town in the southern part of the Athens urban agglomeration, approximately 16 kilometres from the Olympic Village. It was built on the site of the former Hellinikon International Airport for the staging of the 2004 Summer Olympics and 2004 Summer Paralympics. It consists of five separate venues.

Contents

Venues

Exterior view of the Hellinikon Indoor Arena Helliniko Olympic Complex Indoor Arena (cropped).jpg
Exterior view of the Hellinikon Indoor Arena
Interior of the arena during the 2004 Summer Olympics BasketballAt2004SummerOlympics-1.jpg
Interior of the arena during the 2004 Summer Olympics
Olympic Hockey Centre Athen 627.jpg
Olympic Hockey Centre

Hellinikon Indoor Arena

The Indoor arena was an arena adjacent to the Fencing Hall. It hosted the Basketball preliminary matches and the Handball finals at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. The facility seats 15,000 [1] spectators for basketball, although only 10,700 seats were made publicly available during the Olympics - and seats 13,500 fans for handball - though only 10,300 seats were made publicly available during the games. The facility was completed on May 31, 2004 and officially opened on July 30, 2004.

During the 2004 Summer Paralympic Games, the Indoor Arena was the venue for Wheelchair rugby. It has also been the home arena of the Greek basketball club Panionios, and it has also hosted several finals matches of the Greek Cup. The Greek basketball club Panellinios also played European cup home games at the arena.

It was demolished in 2022. [2]

Fencing Hall

Demolished along with the arena and other buildings in 2022. [2]

Olympic Baseball Centre

The Olympic Baseball Centre in Athens consists of two Baseball stadiums. It was the site of the Baseball games at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. The larger stadium seats 8,700 fans-though only 6,700 seats were made publicly available during the Olympics; the smaller stadium seats 4,000 spectators, though only 3,300 seats were made publicly available during the Games. The facility had to be constructed with significant foreign help in the design, as there were only a handful of dusty baseball diamonds in the whole of Greece before the 2004 Olympics were awarded to Athens in 1997. Construction on the facility was completed on February 27, 2004, and it was officially opened on August 12, 2004, a day before the Opening Ceremonies. During the 2004 Summer Paralympic Games, the Olympic Baseball Centre was the venue for Archery. Demolished in 2023.

Olympic Canoe-Kayak Slalom Centre

Only venue of the complex that will not be demolished after the Hellenikon Metropolitan Park is built. The venue will be transformed to a pond.

Olympic Hockey Centre

Olympic Softball Stadium

Post-Olympics Development

The table below lists the current status and usage of the Hellinikon Olympic Complex facilities. Venues in italics have been demolished.

FacilityOlympics UseCurrent/Proposed Use
Hellinikon Basketball Stadium Basketball, HandballHome court for Panellinios BC and Panionios BC (basketball)., [3] Conventions and trade shows [4] Also part of events hall with fencing hall.
Hellinikon Olympic Canoe/Kayak Slalom Centre Canoe/KayakTurned over to a private consortium (J&P AVAX, GEP, Corfu Waterparks and BIOTER), plans to convert it to a water park [5] [6]
Hellinikon Fencing Hall FencingPart of Events hall with the basketball stadium. [7]
Hellinikon Olympic Hockey Centre Field HockeyMini-football, will be part of new Hellinikon metropolitan park complex [8]
Hellinikon Baseball Stadium BaseballConverted to football pitch, home field of Ethnikos Piraeus F.C. (Football; Greek second division) [9] [10]
Hellinikon Olympic Softball Stadium SoftballConcerts [8]

The site was used to house refugee populations in the current Refugee crisis in Europe. The three camps were home to over three thousand refugees living in mostly tented accommodation. [11]

There are currently works under way to convert much of the former Hellinikon International Airport site to a metropolitan park, that requires demolishing of the complex's venues. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2004 Summer Olympics</span> Multi-sport event in Athens, Greece

The 2004 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad and also known as Athens 2004, were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes compete, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team officials from 201 countries, with 301 medal events in 28 different sports. The 2004 Games marked the first time since the 1996 Summer Olympics that all countries with a National Olympic Committee were in attendance, and also marked the first time Athens hosted the Games since their first modern incarnation in 1896 as well as the return of the Olympic games to its birthplace. Athens became one of only four cities at the time to have hosted the Summer Olympic Games on two occasions. A new medal obverse was introduced at these Games, replacing the design by Giuseppe Cassioli that had been used since 1928. The new design features the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens rectifying the long-running mistake of using a depiction of the Roman Colosseum rather than a Greek venue. The 2004 Games was the first of two consecutive Olympic games to be held in Southern Europe since the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, and was followed by the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ellinikon International Airport</span> Airport in Athens, Greece (1938–2001)

Ellinikon International Airport, sometimes spelled Hellinikon, was the international airport of Athens, Greece, for 63 years. Following its closure on 28 March 2001, it was replaced in service by the new Athens International Airport Eleftherios Venizelos. The airport was located 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) south of Athens, and just west of Glyfada. It was named after the village of Elliniko, now a suburb of Athens. The airport had an official capacity of 11 million passengers per year, but served 13.5 million passengers during its last year of operations. A large portion of the site was converted into a stadium and sports facilities for the 2004 Olympic Games.

The Olympic Athletic Center of Athens Spiros Louis or OACA (OAKA)), is a sport facilities complex located at Marousi, in the north section of the city. The complex consists of five major venues as well as other supplementary sport facilities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ano Liosia Olympic Hall</span>

Ano Liosia Olympic Hall is a multi-purpose and multi-sport indoor arena that is located in Ano Liosia, in west section of Athens, Greece. The arena was mainly used to host various martial arts tournaments but from 2021 it is used by AEK B.C. for its home games in the Greek Basket League and the Basketball Champions League. The arena's seating capacity for sporting events is 8,327 in permanent tier seating and 9,327 with the collapsible tiers of seating.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pankritio Stadium</span> Building in Heraklion, Crete Region, Greece

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Athens Olympic Tennis Centre</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">O.A.C.A. Olympic Indoor Hall</span> Sports facility in Greece

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The Olympic Modern Pentathlon Centre was the site of the modern pentathlon events at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. The venue seats 2,500 for the swimming part of the competition, 5,000 for the riding and running parts each, and 3,000 for the fencing and shooting. Construction at the facility was completed on 30 May 2004 and it was officially opened exactly two months later.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">P.A.O.K. Sports Arena</span> Indoor arena in Greece

P.A.O.K. Sports Arena is an indoor arena located in Pylaia, Thessaloniki, Greece, and it hosts the men's basketball, women's basketball, men's volleyball and women's volleyball departments of the multi-sports club PAOK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peace and Friendship Stadium</span> Multi-purpose indoor arena in Piraeus, Greece

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hellinikon Olympic Arena</span> Sports arena in Athens, Greece

The Hellinikon Olympic Indoor Arena was a multi-use sports indoor arena that was located in Elliniko, a suburban town in the southern part of the Athens urban agglomeration, Greece. It was a part of the Hellinikon Olympic Complex, and it was located adjacent to the Helliniko Fencing Hall. It was approximately 10 miles from the Athens Olympic Village. It was built on the site of the former Hellinikon International Airport for the 2004 Summer Olympics and the 2004 Summer Paralympics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Faliro Sports Pavilion Arena</span> Sports stadium in Athens, Greece

The Faliro Sports Pavilion Arena, which is part of the Faliro Coastal Zone Olympic Complex, is an indoor arena in the suburban town of Palaio Faliro, Greece. It is nicknamed "The Little Peace And Friendship Stadium", due to its similarity in design and close proximity to the Peace and Friendship Stadium.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hellinikon Stadium</span>

Hellinikon Stadium is a stadium located at the Hellinikon Olympic Complex in Hellinikon, Athens, located approximately 8 kilometres south of the center of Athens, near Glyfada on the Aegean Sea coast. Ethnikos Piraeus F.C. currently plays its home matches there.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hellinikon Fencing Hall</span> Sports arena in Athens, Greece

The Hellinikon Fencing Hall was a multi-purpose indoor sporting arena that was located adjacent to the Hellinikon Olympic Arena, in Hellinikon, Athens, Greece. The venue was part of the Hellinikon Events Hall of the Hellinikon Olympic Complex. It was demolished in 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hellinikon Olympic Canoe/Kayak Slalom Centre</span>

The Hellinikon Olympic Canoe/Kayak Slalom Centre is located in the Hellinicon Olympic Complex in Athens, Greece. The venue hosted the canoe slalom events for the 2004 Summer Olympics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hellinikon Olympic Hockey Centre</span>

The Hellinikon Olympic Hockey Centre was the site of the field hockey events at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. Located in the Hellinikon Olympic Complex, the facility consists of two hockey fields. The larger stadium seats 7,200 fans – though only 5,200 seats were made publicly available during the Games, and the smaller stadium seats 2,100 spectators – though only 1,200 seats were made publicly available during the Games. The facility was completed on February 29, 2004, and officially opened on August 11, 2004, shortly before the beginning of the Games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hellinikon Olympic Softball Stadium</span> Softball stadium in Athens, Greece

The Hellinikon Olympic Softball Stadium is a softball stadium located in the Hellinikon Olympic Complex in Athens. It hosted the softball competitions during the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. The venue consists of a main softball field of 4,800 seats - though only 3,400 seats were made publicly available during the games - and 2 warm-up fields nearby. Construction on the facility was completed on 29 February 2004, and it was officially opened on 30 July 2004.

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