PalaLottomatica, formerly known as Palazzo dello Sport or PalaEUR, is a multi-purpose sports and entertainment arena in Rome, Italy. It is located in the heart of the well known modern EUR complex. The arena hosted the 1960 Olympic basketball tournaments. The venue features 8 meetings points, a restaurant for 300 people, and a 2,700 square metre (3,229 sq. yard) outdoor terrace. It has a seating capacity of 11,200 spectators for basketball games. The PalaLottomatica Rome, together with Mediolanum Forum of Milan, is a member of the European Arenas Association (EAA).

History

Palazzo dello Sport was designed by architect Marcello Piacentini, in 1957, and its reinforced concrete dome was engineered by Pier Luigi Nervi. It was constructed in two years, from 1958–1960, in time for the

1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics ( it, Giochi Olimpici estivi del 1960), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad ( it, Giochi della XVII Olimpiade) and commonly known as Rome 1960 ( it, Roma 1960), were an international multi-sport event held ...

. The facility was designed and built along with a smaller facility, the

Palazzetto dello Sport The Palazzetto dello Sport (literally "Small Sport Palace"), also less commonly known as the PalaTizianoEUR", the arena was renamed to "PalaLottomatica", with the name of Lottomatica coming from the main sponsor that financed the arena's modernization work, from 1999 to 2003.

Modernization of the arena

The arena was renovated between 2000 and 2003. It was made more functional, especially in terms of acoustics, in order to be able to accommodate important musical events. Other changes were made to the original aesthetics of the stadium, particularly the night lighting of its exterior. That was done by adding glazing to the "tabellone della tombola", with numbers dramatically illuminated behind the glass. The remodeled arena became could seat up to 11,200 spectators. The structure was modified to accommodate multiple sporting events (including internal competitions of, for example, the pro basketball club Pallacanestro Virtus Roma), concerts, conferences, and theatrical events.

Events hosted

The arena hosted the 1960 Olympic basketball tournaments, the EuroBasket 1991 and the

1997 EuroLeague Final Four The 1997 FIBA EuroLeague Final Four was the 1996–97 season's FIBA EuroLeague Final Four tournament, organized by FIBA Europe. Olympiacos won its first title, after defeating FC Barcelona Banca Catalana. Bracket Semifinals Smelt Ol ...

. It is currently the home arena of the Italian professional basketball team

Lottomatica Roma Pallacanestro Virtus Roma, commonly known as Virtus Roma, was an Italian professional basketball club based in Rome, Lazio. It competed in the Italian basketball league system, first division of Italian basketball, the Lega Basket Serie A, LBA, fo ...

. In 1997, the PalaLottomatica hosted the EuroLeague Final Four (in the final, Olympiacos defeated Barcelona, by a score of 73–58), and the final stage of the 2005 Men's European Volleyball Championship, hosting the final between Italy and Russia. An audience of over 14,000 spectators was disappointed, due to a 3–2 comeback victory in Italy, after a thrilling game that lasted over two hours. The WWE held a show at the arena on November 7, 2008. The PalaEUR was also a venue of the

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

and

2010 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship The 2010 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship was held in Italy from 25 September to 10 October 2010. The tournament featured 24 teams to determine the world champions in men's volleyball. In addition to 2006 champion Brazil and host nation I ...

s, as well as the

2014 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship Fourteen or 14 may refer to: * 14 (number), the natural number following 13 and preceding 15 * one of the years 14 BC, AD 14, 1914, 2014 Music * 14th (band), a British electronic music duo * ''14'' (David Garrett album), 2013 *''14'', an unrele ...

. The venue was also named the host of the

2016–17 CEV Champions League The 2016–17 CEV Champions League was the 58th edition of the highest level European volleyball club competition organised by the European Volleyball Confederation. Qualification Pools composition League round *All times are local Po ...

Final 4 of volleyball, on April 29 and 30, 2017, which followed the prior hosting rights to the 2011 event. Many artists have performed at the Palazzo dello Sport / PalaLottomatica since the late 1960s and early 1970s: among them, the

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...

in 1970,

Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in Basildon, Essex, in 1980. The band currently consists of Dave Gahan (lead vocals and co-songwriting) and Martin Gore (keyboards, guitar, co-lead vocals and main songwriting). Depeche ...

several times since 1987, the Cure, Paul McCartney, Iron Maiden,

Dire Straits Dire Straits were a British rock band formed in London in 1977 by Mark Knopfler (lead vocals and lead guitar), David Knopfler (rhythm guitar and backing vocals), John Illsley (bass guitar and backing vocals) and Pick Withers (drums and percuss ...

Bon Jovi Bon Jovi is an American Rock music, rock band formed in 1983 in Sayreville, New Jersey. It consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarist Phil X, and bassist Hugh McDonald (American musician), Hugh McD ...

, and many others. In 1975, a

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. ...

concert was cancelled because of turmoil between the police and groups of people who were protesting against the high prices of concert tickets; because of that turmoil, the Palazzo dello Sport was seriously damaged, and foreign artists refused to perform in Italy for the next five years, until Bob Marley performed in Milan in 1980.

AC/DC AC/DC (stylised as ACϟDC) are an Australian Rock music, rock band formed in Sydney in 1973 by Scottish-born brothers Malcolm Young, Malcolm and Angus Young. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock, and Heavy metal ...

performed a show at the arena in May 1996, during their Ballbreaker World Tour. This arena also hosted an

Avril Lavigne Avril Ramona Lavigne ( ; born September 27, 1984) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. At age 16, she signed a two-album recording contract with Arista Records. Her debut studio album, ''Let Go (Avril Lavigne album), Let Go'' (2002), is the ...

concert, during her The Black Star Tour, on September 10, 2011. Lana Del Rey has performed twice at the arena, in 2013 during her Paradise Tour and in 2018 during her

LA to the Moon Tour The LA to the Moon Tour was the fourth headlining concert tour by American singer Lana Del Rey, in support of her fifth studio album and fourth major-label studio album, Lust for Life (Lana Del Rey album), ''Lust for Life'' (2017). The tour began ...

Ariana Grande Ariana Grande-Butera ( ; born June 26, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Her four-octave vocal range has received critical acclaim, and her personal life has been the subject of widespread media attention. She has received ...

performed at the arena in 2017 during her Dangerous Woman Tour. The first artist to perform after the modernization of the arena and its renaming to PalaLottomatica was Santana, in 2003. On 9 December 1989, the final draw for the

1990 FIFA World Cup The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second time (the first being Me ...

was held at the Palazzo.

References

External links

Romeguide.it - PalaLottomatica
Italian website {{Authority control Basketball venues in Italy Indoor arenas in Italy Massimiliano Fuksas buildings Pier Luigi Nervi buildings Modernist architecture in Italy Olympic basketball venues Olympic boxing venues Rome Q. XXXII Europa Sports venues completed in 1960 Sports venues in Italy Sports venues in Rome Venues of the 1960 Summer Olympics Volleyball venues in Italy

History

Modernization of the arena

Events hosted

See also

References

External links