New European attendance record set at EuroBasket 2015
LILLE (EuroBasket 2015) - A new single-game attendance record for an indoor basketball game in Europe was set in Pierre Mauroy Stadium in Lille, France, on Saturday when a sell-out crowd of 26,135 turned out for the game between France and Turkey on the first day of Round of 16 action at EuroBasket 2015.
The official number broke the previous record held by Red Star Belgrade. On 26 March 2014, Belgrade Arena was packed with 24,232 fans supporting their team against Budivelnik Kyiv in the Eurocup Quarter-Finals.
Saturday's Round of 16 game between Spain and Poland already saw a new record in the modern EuroBasket era with 21,302 spectators in the stands, but it was only a matter of hours before the record was bettered.
The previous record was set at EuroBasket 2005 in Belgrade, with 18,900 fans watching the Final and Third-Place Game.
"For basketball in general and for continental championships in particular, this is really an amazing day," commented FIBA Europe President Turgay Demirel.
"It is only the qualification games for the Last Eight, so we are hoping that the number of fans seen here today will continue to turn out over the coming week.
"It will be one of our responsibilities for the future to keep the attendance numbers high for the European game. This will not be an easy task, but we will do our best."
For the first time in EuroBasket history, the championship has been held in four countries, with the Final Phase currently taking place in Pierre Mauroy Stadium, which is more commonly used to host football games.
"This is a new era of European basketball. It's not only one game. The whole Final Phase is going to be outstanding in a facility like this," said Kamil Novak, FIBA Executive Director Europe.
"The European basketball family can and should be proud of the interest in the national teams and in EuroBasket.
"Obviously, having almost 30,000 spectators in the arena is something unique. This is a base for our future work because this is the way we want to go - bigger, modern arenas."
Single-game record attendances in the modern EuroBasket era:
| Year | ||||
| 2015 | EuroBasket - Round of 16 | France - Turkey | Pierre Mauroy Stadium, Lille | 26,135 |
| 2015 | EuroBasket - Round of 16 | Spain - Poland | Pierre Mauroy Stadium, Lille | 21,302 |
| 2005 | EuroBasket - Final | Greece - Germany | Belgrade Arena, Belgrade | 18,900 |
| 2005 | EuroBasket - Game for 3rd Place | France - Spain | Belgrade Arena, Belgrade | 18,900 |
| 2013 | EuroBasket - Qualification | Serbia - Montenegro | Belgrade Arena, Belgrade | 18,150 |
Go to eurobasket2015.org for complete coverage of EuroBasket 2015.
FIBA
