Looking forward to the European Basketball Championship

In just a few days, a very special year will begin in Lithuania—at least for the country’s sports federation. In 2011, the Baltic nation will host the European Basketball Championship. This event is a great honor for Lithuania. After all, basketball is one of the country’s national sports, and its national team can already look back on a number of successes. Accordingly, preparations for the biggest sporting event of 2011 are well underway. From September 3 to 18, 2011, Lithuania will be entirely focused on basketball. So, as early as the beginning of the new year, all the host venues will have to be thoroughly inspected.

Along with the capital, Vilnius, Kaunas is also a particular focus for the athletes. The preliminary-round games will be played in Alytus, Klaipeda, Panevezys, and Siauliai, and these arenas are still being inspected. While the arenas hosting the preliminary-round games can hold around 5,000 spectators, twice or even three times as many fans can attend the finals. The largest arena of the tournament is the venue in Kaunas. The Kauno Arena was built in 2008 and has a capacity of 15,000. The arena is the showpiece of the European Championship and is located on an island in the Nemunas River. The oldest venue is the Siemens Arena in Vilnius. This sports center was only inaugurated in 2004 and can hold 11,000 fans. Half of the venues were built specifically for the tournament.