Olympic Palace

Tbilisi Olympic Palace

ოლიმპიური სასახლე
Tbilisi New Sports Palace
Entrance to Olympic Sports Palace in 2017
Location	Tbilisi, Georgia
Coordinates	41.7181°N 44.7279°E / 41.7181; 44.7279
Owner	Government of Georgia
Capacity	Grand Hall: 3,600 (sports) or 4,000 (concerts) Tbilisi Arena: 10,000 (basketball)
Construction
Broke ground	January 2015
Opened	13 July 2015
Expanded	2022 (arena)

Olympic Palace (Georgian: ოლიმპიური სასახლე, romanized: olimp'iuri sasakhle) is an indoor sports arena situated in Tbilisi, Georgia, which was built to be used as one of the venues for the 2015 European Youth Summer Olympic Festival.^[1] А new basketball arena was added to the complex in 2022.

Construction and facilities

Tbilisi Arena during the opening day of EuroBasket 2022

Opened on 13 July 2015 by Georgia's Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, the complex features two halls that are capable of hosting several sports, such as handball, basketball, volleyball, judo, wrestling, futsal, fencing and other games and tournaments.^[2] The seated capacity for the Grand Hall (main arena) is 3,600 for sporting events while the smaller hall can hold 600 spectators. The Olympic Palace also includes a VIP lounge, conference and media rooms, a cafe and car parking area with space for 260 cars.^[3]

The complex was expanded with a new 10,000-seat indoor basketball arena next to the Olympic Palace and will host, in September 2022, Group A matches of EuroBasket 2022.^[4] A tunnel connects the two venues of the complex, with the arena expected to be completed by the end of May 2022.^[5] Prime Minister Garibashvili visited the new building on 11 June of that year. The palace's arena is built in line with modern standards and equipped with the latest technology. The new Sports Palace hosted the first EuroBasket test match on 4 July.^[6]

Events

The venue has hosted the 2015, 2016 and 2017 Judo Grand Prix Tbilisi. The Group A round of the UEFA Futsal Euro 2018 qualifying competition was held here from 24 to 27 January 2017.^[7] The 4th European Kung Fu Championships^[8] and the 2017 Men's Youth World Handball Championship from 8–20 August.^[9]

On 9 August 2017, the Olympic Palace was announced as the new host venue for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2017 after the larger capacity Tbilisi Sports Palace was considered unsuitable for hosting the contest.^[10]

References

1. "Olympic Palace – Olimp". magda.ge. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
2. "New Sports Palace opens in Tbilisi for EYOF 2015". agenda.ge. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
3. "Ოლიმპიური სასახლე – Olimp".
4. "FIBA Europe delegation visits Tbilisi to see progress of new arena". FIBA. 1 April 2021. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
5. "In'l Basketball Federation praises "successful" construction of new sports complex in Tbilisi". Agenda.ge. 12 May 2022. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
6. "Irakli Garibashvili: With new Sports Palace in place, we are ready to host EuroBasket". www.gov.ge. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
7. uefa.com. "Futsal EURO - Standings – UEFA.com". UEFA.com. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
8. "Tbilisi hosting European Kung Fu Championships". agenda.ge. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
9. "2017 Men's Junior and Youth World Championships in Algeria and Georgia". ihf.info. 15 March 2017.
10. Jordan, Paul (9 August 2017). "16 Countries to dazzle on stage in Tbilisi in 2017!". junioreurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 9 August 2017.

External links

Media related to Olympic Palace at Wikimedia Commons

Preceded by Mediterranean Conference Centre Valletta

Junior Eurovision Song Contest Venue 2017

Succeeded by Minsk Arena Minsk