Nicos Solomonides Arena

Last updated
Nicos Solomonides Arena
To klouvi (The Cage)
(Greek: Το κλουβί)
Nicos Solomonides Arena
Full name"Nicos Solomonides Arena"
(Greek: Αίθουσα Νίκος Σολωμονίδης) [1]
Former namesMelford Arena
Location Limassol, Cyprus
Coordinates 34°40′11.65″N33°01′35.59″E / 34.6699028°N 33.0265528°E / 34.6699028; 33.0265528
Owner AEL Limassol
Capacity 2,500
Construction
Built2005
OpenedOctober 26, 2005
Tenants
AEL BC

Nicos Solomonides Arena is an indoor arena in Limassol, Cyprus. It is the home venue of AEL Limassol B.C. and has a capacity of 2,500 seats. [2] [3] The arena was named after club co-founder and president Nicos Solomonides. [4]

The stadium has been renamed on occasion for sponsorship reasons. It was initially named "Melford Arena" and subsequently rebranded as "Limassol Cooperative Bank Arena", until finally the stadium reverted to being called "Nicos Solomonides Arena". Colloquially however, the stadium is referred to by basketball fans and officials alike as "To Klouvi" (Greek : Το κλουβί, lit.  'The cage'"), which refers to the claustrophobic atmosphere produced when the stadium is at maximum attendance. [5] Various critics have asserted that the atmosphere created in the Arena leaves opponent teams at an unfair disadvantage due to the close proximity between themselves and AEL's supporters. [6] [7] [8]

At the moment, the Arena features the club's offices, official club shop, a cafe-restaurant named "Yellow Pride Cafe", a workout area and 12 VIP boxes. The arena also houses official club offices for AEL's other sports departments.

Commencing in 2022, construction has already broken ground to build an AEL Limassol Museum, which will include amongst others, the Club's trophy cabinet with the trophies won by each of AEL's sports departments, as well as framed photographs from historic events/game, a display collection featuring historic basketball jerseys worn by AEL B.C. as well as the jerseys worn by their European opponents during the club's second golden age. [9] As of 25th September 2023, the museum is under construction.

The stadium is also used by AEL's women's basketball and volleyball clubs.


Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Limassol</span> City on the southern coast of Cyprus

Limassol is a city on the southern coast of Cyprus and capital of the district with the same name. Limassol is the second largest urban area in Cyprus after Nicosia, with an urban population of 195,139 and a metropolitan population of 262,238.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Athlitiki Enosi Larissa F.C.</span> Football club

AEL Football Club, also known by its full name Athlitiki Enosi Larissas, simply called AEL or Larissa, is a Greek professional football club based in the city of Larissa, capital of Greece's Thessaly region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cyprus men's national basketball team</span>

The Cyprus men's national basketball team represents Cyprus in international basketball, and is controlled by the Cyprus Basketball Federation. The national team is coached by Christophoros Livadiotis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AEL Limassol</span> Association football club in Cyprus

Athlitiki Enosi Lemesou is a Cypriot sports club based in the city of Limassol, most famous for its football team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AEL Limassol B.C.</span> Basketball team in Cyprus

AEL Limassol Basketball Club, also known as PAYABL EKA AEL for sponsorship reasons and commonly referred to as AEL, is the professional basketball club of the AEL Limassol multi-sport club, based in Limassol, Cyprus. Nicknamed "The Queen of Cyprus Basketball", AEL, along with several other clubs, co-founded the Cyprus Basketball Federation in 1966 and in the years that followed, the club firmly established itself as the most successful basketball team in Cyprus. Internationally, the club ranks seventh in the list of the most successful basketball teams in the history of the FIBA EuroCup.

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

The Peace and Friendship Stadium, commonly known by its acronym SEF, 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. It opened in 1985 and its design was inspired by Palasport di San Siro.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fotis Papoulis</span> Cypriot footballer

Fotis Papoulis is a retired professional footballer who last played for Omonia in the Cypriot First Division. Born in Greece, he played for the Cyprus national team.

The 2013–14 Cypriot Cup was the 72nd edition of the Cypriot Cup. A total of 30 clubs entered the competition. It began on 23 October 2013 with the first round and concluded on 21 May 2014 with the final which was held at GSP Stadium. APOEL won their 20th Cypriot Cup trophy after beating Ermis Aradippou 2–0 in the final.

The 2014–15 Cypriot Cup was the 73rd edition of the Cypriot Cup. A total of 26 clubs entered the competition. It began on 29 October 2014 with the first round and concluded on 20 May 2015 with the final which was held at GSZ Stadium. APOEL clinched their 21st Cypriot Cup trophy and their second in successive seasons with a convincing 4–2 victory over AEL Limassol.

The 2015–16 Cypriot Cup was the 74th edition of the Cypriot Cup. A total of 28 clubs entered the competition. It began on 28 October 2015 with the first round and concluded on 18 May 2016 with the final which was held at Tsirion Stadium. Apollon clinched their 8th Cypriot Cup trophy after a 2–1 victory over Omonia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AEK B.C.</span> Greek professional basketball club based in Athens

AEK Basketball Club, also known as AEK B.C. or AEK, and more commonly known in European competitions as AEK Athens, is a Greek professional basketball club based in Athens, Greece, part of the major multi-sport club AEK. The club was established in Athens in 1924 by Greek refugees from Constantinople in the wake of the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stefanos Iliadis</span> Cypriot basketball player

Stefanos Iliadis is a Cypriot professional basketball player for Apollon Limassol of the Cypriot League. He studied for the University of South Florida, but he didn't manage to make it to the team's roster. Iliadis entered the 2016 NBA draft but was not selected in the draft's two rounds.

The 2018–19 Cypriot Cup was the 77th edition of the Cypriot Cup. A total of 24 clubs were accepted to enter the competition. It began on 5 December 2018 with the first round and concluded on 22 May 2019 with the final held at GSP Stadium. The winner of the Cup was AEL Limassol for seventh time and qualified for the 2019–20 Europa League second qualifying round.

AEL Limassol Women Basketball Club, also known as PAYABL EKA AEL W.B.C. for sponsorship reasons and often abbreviated as AEL, is a Cypriot professional basketball club based in Limassol. The women's section of the Basketall club is also nicknamed The Queen and since the introduction of women's professional basketball on the island, AEL women has developed into one of the most successful teams in Cyprus.

The Alphamega Stadium, also known as Limassol Stadium for UEFA competitions, is a football stadium in Kolossi, Limassol District, Cyprus, and the home ground of the 3 biggest clubs of Limassol Apollon, AEL and Aris. With an all-seater capacity of 11,000, it is the second largest only football stadium and the fifth largest football stadium overall in Cyprus.

Pantelis "Linos" Gavriel is a Cypriot-Greek professional basketball coach. He is the head coach of Manama Club since his re-hiring in 2023.

Kalia Papadopoulou is a Cypriot former basketball player and current basketball coach of the men's team of AEL Limassol B.C.

Giorgos Thyrotos was a Cypriot international basketball player and coach from Limassol, a leading figure of AEL Limassol and the Cyprus national team. He played at the point guard position.

Marios Moniatis is a Cypriot professional basketball player who currently plays for and captains the men's team of AEL Limassol B.C. in the Cyprus Basket League and the Balkan International Basketball League.

References

  1. ↑ "Κυπριακή Ομοσπονδία Καλαθοσφαίρισης".
  2. ↑ "FIBA Europe Secretary General Opens Lemesos Arena | FIBA Europe".
  3. ↑ "Λεμεσός". ΑΡΧΗ ΑΔΕΙΟΔΟΤΗΣΗΣ ΣΤΑΔΙΩΝ (in Greek). 2023-06-28. Retrieved 2023-11-28.
  4. ↑ "FIBA Europe Secretary General Opens Lemesos Arena | FIBA Europe".
  5. ↑ Cyprusbasket (2023-01-08). "ΑΕΛ: Με τον 6ο της παίκτη". Cyprus Basket. Retrieved 2023-09-26.
  6. ↑ Cyprusbasket (2021-12-21). "Όταν η κερκίδα της ΑΕΛ έπαιρνε... φωτιά (vid)". Cyprus Basket. Retrieved 2023-09-26.
  7. ↑ Κόκκινος, Ανδρέας (2021-10-25). "Στην ΑΝΤΕΠΙΘΕΣΗ η ΑΕΛ - «Ανεπιθύμητοι ΟΛΟΙ οι διαιτητές…»". Cyprus Basket. Retrieved 2023-09-26.
  8. ↑ "PAYABL EKA AEL Limassol joins Delasport Balkan League". balkanleague.net. Retrieved 2023-09-01.
  9. ↑ "Αποκτά το δικό της μουσείο η ΑΕΛ | AlphaNews.Live". www.alphanews.live (in Greek). Retrieved 2023-09-26.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.