The Olympic Athletic Center of Athens Spiros Louis ( el, Ολυμπιακό Αθλητικό Κέντρο Αθηνών "Σπύρος Λούης", ''Olympiakó Athlitikó Kéntro Athinón "Spýros Loúis"'') or OACA ()), is a sport facilities complex located at Marousi, northeast

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

. The complex consists of five major venues as well as other supplementary sport facilities. The Olympic Athletic Center of Athens has hosted the Mediterranean Games in 1991, the World Championship in Athletics in 1997 as well as other important athletic and cultural events. The most significant event the Athens Olympic Sports Complex has hosted, was the Olympic Games. OACA was the main venue for the Athens Olympic Games in 2004. The complex was revamped for the games under a design produced by the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

Santiago Calatrava Santiago Calatrava Valls (born 28 July 1951) is a Spanish architect, structural engineer, sculptor and painter, particularly known for his bridges supported by single leaning pylons, and his railway stations, stadiums, and museums, whose sculp ...

Venues

Spyros Louis Athens Olympic Stadium

The stadium, built in 1982 and extensively refurbished for the games in 2004, including the addition of a roof, hosted the

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...

events and the soccer final, as well as the Opening Ceremony on August 13, 2004 and the

Closing Ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event.

on August 29, 2004.The venue also hosted the same events during the

2004 Summer Paralympics ) , nations = 136 , athletes = 3,806 , events = 519 in 19 sports , opening = 17 September , closing = 28 September , opened_by = President Costis Stephanopoulos , cauldron = Georgios Toptsis , stadium = Olympi ...

Nikos Galis Olympic Indoor Hall

The Nikos Galis Olympic Indoor Hall (also known simply as the Indoor Hall) was completed in 1995, and was the largest indoor venue in use for sporting events at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. It is part of the Athens Olympic Sports Complex, in the suburb of

Maroussi Marousi or Maroussi ( el, Μαρούσι, also Αμαρούσιο ''Amarousio'') is a suburb in the northeastern part of the Athens agglomeration, Greece. Marousi dates back to the era of the ancient Athenian Republic; its ancient name was Athmon ...

. The

arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators ...

was used for

artistic gymnastics Artistic gymnastics is a discipline of gymnastics in which athletes perform short routines on different apparatuses. The sport is governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG), which designs the Code of Points and regulates ...

and

trampolining Trampolining or trampoline gymnastics is a competitive Olympic sport in which athletes perform acrobatics while bouncing on a trampoline. In competition, these can include simple jumps in the straight, pike, tuck, or straddle position to more co ...

and also hosted the finals of the

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

matches at the games. On May 18 and 20, 2006, the Olympic Indoor Hall hosted the 51st Eurovision Song Contest, that was held in Athens after Greece's victory at the Song Contest in 2005.

Athens Olympic Aquatic Centre

Athens Olympic Velodrome

Athens Olympic Tennis Centre

Transportation to and from the venue

The Athens Olympic Sports Complex can be reached by

Metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urb ...

Neratziotissa" and "Irini" of

Line 1 (Green Line)], by suburban train (Proastiakos station "Neratziotissa"), or by direct bus lines [A7 (Stournari – Kifissia), 602 (N. Ionia – Kalogreza – Panormou Metro Station), 550 (P. Faliro – Kifissia).

Legacy

While it was reported in 2008 that almost all of the Olympic venues utilized for the 2004 games, including certain facilities in the Sports Complex such as the velodrome and tennis center, have fallen into varying states of dereliction or disrepair, all of the facilities in the Athens Olympic Sports Complex are still in use today. The table below illustrates how the Athens Olympic Sports Complex facilities are used today:

References

Sources

2004 Summer Olympics official report.
Volume 2. pp. 201, 207, 227, 231, 242, 273, 303, 324, 329, 346, 409.

External links

*
Official site
{{2004 Summer Olympic venues Olympic Parks Santiago Calatrava structures Venues of the 2004 Summer Olympics Sports venues completed in 1982

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

Buildings and structures in North Athens Sports complexes in Greece Marousi 1982 establishments in Greece