1. History

2. References

Kaunas Sports Hall ({{lang-lt|Kauno sporto halė}}), also known as the S. Darius and S. Girėnas Hall is the second largest arena of Kaunas, Lithuania. It is the first arena built in the residential Žaliakalnis neighbourhood of Kaunas specially for basketball in Europe and is referred to as a "Mecca of the Lithuanian basketball". The arena's seating capacity is 5,000. Initial seating capacity was 3,500 and the other spectators (up to 11,000) used to have standing room. Its length is 62.8 meters and its width is 61 meters. It is a part of the S. Darius and S. Girėnas sport center, which also includes the nearby national stadium.

The arena generally hosts basketball games and concerts. It has served as the home court for Žalgiris basketball club, competing in the Euroleague and the LKL League till the middle of 2011. It was also used by the Granitas Kaunas team handball club.

History

The construction of the hall cost 400.000 LTL and at first had 3600 seats and 7000 standing spots. It was regarded as the biggest basketball stadium in the whole world.^[1][2]

Since its establishment, the Kaunas Sports Hall is situated in close proximity to the Lithuanian Academy of Physical Education and the S. Darius and S. Girėnas Stadium, adjacent to the Ąžuolynas Park. The arena was completed before the 3rd European Basketball Championship in 1939.^[3] The foundation was laid in December 1938. All the steel constructions were finished by April 1939 and masonry work on May 10 of the same year. In December 2005, it underwent a minor reconstruction and added some 525 additional seats to reach the current capacity of 5,000. Until the year 2009 it fit the criteria of the Euroleague relations for minimum seating requirements, but not after that when the minimum league's requirement to accommodate fans increased to 10,000.

In August 2011 a larger and much more modern Žalgiris Arena has been opened in Kaunas, as Lithuania was hosting the 37th European Basketball Championship. The Kaunas Sports Hall will long be remembered as the arena where the Lithuanian national basketball team won their consecutive Gold medal at the Eurobasket 1939. The Kaunas Sports Hall was included into the Registry of Immovable Cultural Heritage Sites of the Republic of Lithuania in 1993.^[4]

Most of the 2015 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship games were held in the hall in 2015 (including the finals).

  title=Eurobasket
 Final Venue|  before=''1937 Final Venue'' 
''Riga'' |  after=''1946 Final Venue'' 
''Geneva''|  years='''1939'''

References

• The Want (NJ band)
• The Wants
• The Wapshot Chronicles
• The Wapshot Scandal
• The war 1812
• The War Against Cliche
• The War Against Drugs
• The War Against Mrs. Hadley
• The War Against Mrs. Hadley (1942 film)
• The War Against the Kingship of Christ
• The War at Home (disambiguation)
• The War at Home (Law & Order: Criminal Intent)
• The War at Home (Law & Order: Criminal Intent episode)
• The War at sea from Hawaii to Malay
• The War at the End of the World
• The War Between the Classes
• The War Between the States
• The War Between the Tates
• The War Boys
• The War College (Salvation Army)
• The War College - TSA
• The Warcraft movie
• The Ward Body Company
• The Ward (disambiguation)
• The Warded Man