Basketball Venue Overview

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At the upcoming London 2012 Olympic Games, one of the world's most popular and perhaps most anticipated team sports, basketball, will be showcased at two venues - Basketball Arena and North Greenwich Arena .

The two state-of-the-art arenas are set to provide the perfect backdrop for the best players from around the world to showcase their elite talent, while getting the opportunity to represent their respective countries.

Preliminary play, for both men and women, will tip off at Basketball Arena in late July.

Located at the north end of Olympic Park, the newly constructed, 12,000-seat steel structure weighs in at 1,000 tons and covers an area equal to two soccer fields - making it one of the largest-ever temporary venues built for any Olympic Games.

To stay on par with London's theme of sustainability , Basketball Arena will be completely torn down once the Games have commenced. Parts of the structure are expected to be reused elsewhere in the UK.

As the competition reaches the quarter-finals stage, the action will shift across the Thames River to the North Greenwich Arena.

More famously know as the O2 Arena, this multi-purpose venue has a seating capacity of over 20,000, making it the second largest in the UK. Although the arena has been the setting for numerous sporting events since its inauguration in 2007, changes will need to be made to its interior for the purpose of hosting Olympics events.

This includes erecting temporary event facilities including a broadcast compound, field of play, training and warm up areas and other supporting facilities including workforce, catering, cleaning and waste areas.

Once the Olympic Games have come to a close, the North Greenwich Arena will revert to being a multi-faceted music, sports and entertainment venue.

Fun Facts:

*300 basketballs will be used during the London 2012 Basketball competition.

*Basketball Arena is the fourth-largest venue at the Olympic Park.

*To accommodate the athletes, all the doors at the Basketball Arena are required to be an above average 2.4 meters high.

*The North Greenwich Arena was originally built for the Millennium celebrations.

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