PalaLottomatica

PalaLottomatica

Palazzo dello Sport, PalaSport, PalaEUR
Former names	Palazzo dello Sport (1960-2003)
Location	Piazzale dello Sport I-00144 Rome
Coordinates	41°49′31.31″N 12°27′59.55″E / 41.8253639°N 12.4665417°ECoordinates: 41°49′31.31″N 12°27′59.55″E / 41.8253639°N 12.4665417°E
Owner	Ente EUR Spa
Operator	All Events Spa
Capacity	Basketball: 11,200 [1]
Surface	Parquet
Construction
Broke ground	1956
Built	1960
Opened	1960
Renovated	2003
Architect	Marcello Piacentini
Structural engineer	Pier Luigi Nervi
Services engineer	Ingg. Nervi & Bartoli
Tenants
Virtus Roma (1983-1999, 2003-2011)

Interior of PalaLottomatica During a game of Virtus Roma on 2007

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.^[2]

The stadium 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.

History

Palazzo dello Sport was designed by architect Marcello Piacentini in 1961 and its reinforced concrete dome was engineered by Pier Luigi Nervi and it was constructed in two years from 1958-1960 in time for the 1960 Summer Olympics. The facility was designed and built along with a smaller facility, the Palazzetto dello Sport, its dome also engineered by Nervi.

Formerly known as PalaSport and informally as PalaEUR, by the name of the neighbourhood that hosts it, the 'EUR' precisely, it was renamed "PalaLottomatica" with the name of Lottomatica, the main sponsor that financed the modernization work from 1999 to 2003.

Modernization

The stadium has been made more functional, especially in terms of acoustics, to also accommodate important musical events. Other changes were made to the original aesthetics of the stadium, particularly the night lighting of exterior glazing that now occurs at "tabellone della tombola", with numbers dramatically illuminated behind the glass.

After the remodeling, it is able to accommodate up to 11,200 seated spectators. The structure is versatile and hosts sporting events (including internal competitions of, for example, Pallacanestro Virtus Roma), concerts, conferences, and theatrical events.

The PalaLottomatica Rome, together with Mediolanum Forum of Milan, is a member of the European Arenas Association (EAA).

Events

The arena hosted the 1960 Olympic basketball tournaments,^[3] the 1991 European basketball championships^[4] and the Euroleague 1997 Final Four. It is currently the home arena of the Italian professional basketball team Lottomatica Roma.

In 1997 the PalaLottomatica hosted the Euroleague Final Four and the final stage of the 2005 Men's European Volleyball Championship, oversubscribed in the final between Italy and Russia, Hosting one of its terraces an audience of over 14,000 spectators were disappointed that thanks to a 3-2 comeback victory in Italy, after a thrilling game that lasted over two hours. The WWE ran a show on November 7, 2008 at the PalaLottomatica.

The PalaEUR was also a venue of the 1978 and 2010 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship as well as the 2014 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship.

Many artists have performed at the Palazzo dello Sport / PalaLottomatica since late 60's and early 70's: amongst them the Rolling Stones in 1970,^[5] the Depeche Mode several times since 1987,^[6][7] the Cure,^[8] Paul McCartney,^[9] Iron Maiden,^[10] Dire Straits^[11] and many others. In 1975 a Lou Reed concert was cancelled because of turmoils between police and groups of people who protested against the high prices of concert tickets; because of those turmoils the Palazzo dello Sport was seriously damaged^[12] and foreigner artists refused to perform in Italy for the following 5 years^[13] until Bob Marley performed in Milan in 1980. The Spice Girls performed a show in March 1998 during their Spiceworld Tour. This arena also hosted the concert of Avril Lavigne with her The Black Star Tour on September 10, 2011.

The first artist to perform after the modernization and the renaming as PalaLottomatica was Carlos Santana in 2003.^[14]

See also

• Norfolk Scope

References

1. seating capacity of PalaLottomatica
2. 1960 Summer Olympics official report. Volume 1. pp. 68, 70, 72.
3. 1960 Summer Olympics official report. Volume 1. pp. 68, 70, 72.
4. Basketball in Serbia And Montenegro (SCG)
5. "I tumultuosi Stones" [The Tumultuous Stones]. La Stampa (in Italian) (Turin). 1970-09-30. Retrieved 2011-06-05.
6. Assante, Ernesto (1987-10-29). "Elettropop per le masse" [Electro-pop for the Masses]. la Repubblica (in Italian) (Rome). Retrieved 2011-06-05.
7. Pellicciotti, Giacomo (1990-11-13). "Elogio del computer" [In Praise of the Computer]. la Repubblica (in Italian) (Rome). Retrieved 2011-06-05.
8. Putti, Laura (1987-11-13). "Evviva, questo autunno porta rock di qualità" [Hooray! This Autumn We Are Going to Have Quality Rock!]. la Repubblica (in Italian) (Rome). Retrieved 2011-06-05.
9. Putti, Laura (1989-10-25). "Un lungo sogno con Paul" [A Long Dream with Paul]. la Repubblica (in Italian) (Rome). Retrieved 2011-06-05.
10. Pellicciotti, Giacomo (1990-11-20). "Ma sì, son bravi ragazzi quei truci Iron Maiden" [Don't Worry, Those Grim Iron Maiden Are Good Fellas]. la Repubblica (in Italian) (Rome). Retrieved 2011-06-05.
11. Pellicciotti, Giacomo (1992-09-09). "Viva il rock che consola" [Long Life to the Rock that Comforts Us]. la Repubblica (in Italian) (Rome). Retrieved 2011-06-05.
12. Carbone, Fabrizio (1975-02-17). "Semidistrutto il Palasport di Roma nella lotta tra teppisti e la polizia" [Half-destroyed the Rome PalaSport After the Riot Involving Police and Hooligans]. La Stampa (in Italian) (Turin). Retrieved 2011-06-05.
13. Assante, Ernesto (1993-07-11). "Quando l'Italia non era nei tour" [When Italy Was Kept Off Of Tours]. la Repubblica (in Italian) (Roma). Retrieved 2011-06-05.
14. Giuliani, Francesca (2003-09-19). "Santana, sushi e basket: il menù Palalottomatica" [Santana, Sushi and Basketball: This Is the PalaLottomatica Menu]. la Repubblica (in Italian) (Rome). Retrieved 2011-06-05.

External links

• Romeguide.it - PalaLottomatica, Italian website