| Near East Indoor Hall |
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All
photographs featured on this page are presented in smaller size.
You may enlarge any of them and see it in full size by simply clicking on it. |
| Capacity: 1,300 |
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Location:
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The
hall is located in Kessariani, a district 3 km east of the Athens
city centre. To get there by car, drive along Vassileos
Alexandrou Street, in front of the Hilton. Keep going until you reach
a set of traffic lights at the junction with Imittou Street. You must
cross into Ethnikis Antistaseos Street, the main street of Kessariani.
About 1 km after that, you will see the neoclassical entrance of the
Near East sports centre on your right. Through it you will enter the
football stadium, while the club's indoor hall is located at the far
right corner of the football ground.
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Alternatively,
you may use line 3 of the Metro and get off at "Evangelismos".
From there take either bus #223 or #224 to Kessariani.
The nearest bus stop to the Near East Indoor Hall is "10th Kessarianis",
on Ethnikis Antistaseos Street.
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| Built in: 1979 |
| Home of: Near East B.C. (Á2 Division) |
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More
data: Adjacent to the indoor hall is the Near East football
ground. It was the home of Ethnikos Asteras FC until 1998, when
they moved to the (then) new Kessariani
Stadium. The football ground is today used by local amateur
clubs.
The sports centre was created by the American Near East Foundation, as part of its relief effort to refugees of Asia Minor. These people, who fled their homes after the Disaster of 1922, were the first to settle in Kessarani. The football ground was ready in 1932 and initially served the purposes of the Foundation. Its ownership passed to the Greek State in 1935. The indoor hall was constructed in the late 1970s. It had a capacity of less than 1,000 spectators until 1998, when Near East B.C. were promoted to the A1 Division. It was decided that the hall was too small and that it should be expanded with the addition of an extension to its east side. As a result, the east stand (which you may see in the photos) was built. |
| The indoor hall is owned by the Ministry of Education. |
| Many thanks to Nikos Dellatolas (Entos Tis Kessarianis newspaper) for the valuable information |
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