Featured image credit: Jan M/CC BY-SA 3.0/Edited for size
Euroleague Basketball has awarded hosting rights for the 2023 and 2024 editions of its EuroLeague Final Four event to Kaunas and Berlin, respectively.
The 2023 event will take place at Kaunas’ Zalgirio Arena, which has a capacity of more than 15,000 spectators for basketball. It will mark the first time Lithuania has hosted the Final Four.
The 2024 tournament will be held at Berlin’s Mercedes-Benz Arena, which seats 14,500 for basketball events. The arena has hosted the Final Four twice before, in 2009 and 2006.
Zalgirio Arena’s event will take place from May 19-21 next year. Lithuania is a major market for basketball and Kaunas has been a long-time contender to host the Final Four. Zalgirio Arena opened in 2011 is home to EuroLeague team Zalgiris Kaunas.
Tickets for the event will go on general sale on January 17 and will feature seven different price categories, all of which will provide seating for four games. Tickets will range from €56.25 (£49.21/$59.79) per game to €128.75 per game.
Paulius Motiejunas, Zalgiris Kaunas director, said: “The decision to hold the EuroLeague Final Four in Kaunas is the highest level of appreciation for the entire Zalgiris organisation. We have been striving for years to host this prestigious event in our country, so we are even more pleased that our efforts have been appreciated.
“We are grateful to the Kaunas city municipality, which supported our ambition and enthusiastically agreed to contribute to the success of this tournament. There is a lot of work to be done, a lot of communication with the Euroleague, but we are ready for it. We will do our best to make this the best Final Four celebration in league history.”
In 2024, Berlin will become the first city to host three Final Fours since Euroleague Basketball’s inception. Berlin had initially been due to host the 2022 tournament but COVID-19 restrictions in Germany at the time led to the event being relocated to Belgrade in Serbia.
Ole Hertel, vice-president and managing director of Mercedes-Benz Arena, said: “As they say, good things come to the ones who can wait. So, after missing out on the event earlier this year due to COVID restrictions, we are even more excited that the Turkish Airlines Final Four eventually will return to Berlin for a third time in 2024.
“We credit this to the longstanding relationship between AEG and Euroleague. Both previous Final Fours left their mark as two of the most memorable events the Mercedes-Benz Arena has ever hosted, and we are confident that the tournament in 2024 will add to that legacy.”
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