page_title: Patras
section_title: Sports
hierarchical_section_title: Patras / Culture / Sports
caption_attribution_description: Palai de Spor Patras Dimitris Tofalos Greece Παλαί ντε σπορ Πάτρας "Ολυμπιονίκης Δημήτριος Τόφαλος" .
context_page_description: Patras is Greece's third-largest city and the regional capital of Western Greece, in the northern Peloponnese, 215 km west of Athens. The city is built at the foot of Mount Panachaikon, overlooking the Gulf of Patras.
  As of the 2011 census, the city of Patras has a population of 167,446 and the municipal unit has 170,896 inhabitants; the municipality has 213,984 inhabitants. The population of its functional urban area was 217,555 in 2011. The core settlement has a history spanning four millennia. In the Roman period, it had become a cosmopolitan center of the eastern Mediterranean whilst, according to the Christian tradition, it was also the place of Saint Andrew's martyrdom.
  Dubbed as Greece's 'Gate to the West', Patras is a commercial hub, while its busy port is a nodal point for trade and communication with Italy and the rest of Western Europe. The city has two public universities and one technological institute, hosting a large student population and rendering Patras an important scientific centre with a field of excellence in technological education.
context_section_description: Patras has several sports facilities and important teams in almost all the major Greek leagues. Panachaiki Gymnastiki Enosi, Apollon Patras, E.A. Patras and NO Patras are historically the major sports clubs based in the city, specialising in football, basketball, volleyball and water polo. The city's national stadium, Pampeloponnisiako Stadium, was renovated and expanded in 2004. Since 2009, a new event, the Patras International Circuit Kart takes place every September, turning the city streets into a circuit.	
  The city has hosted several international sports events, such as the 1995 Basketball Under-19 World Cup (preliminaries), the 1995 Men's European Volleyball Championship (preliminaries), the 1997 Rhythmic Gymnastics European Championships, the 2001 World Wrestling Championships, the EuroBasket 2003 Women, the 2003 International Children's Games, a group stage of the football tournament in the 2004 Olympic Games, the 2007 World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships, the 2008 World Deaf Football Championships and the 2019 Mediterranean Beach Games.
caption: Dimitris Tofalos Arena
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