Sportska Sala Biljanini Izvori

Sportska Sala Biljanini Izvori sits on the shore of Lake Ohrid, where the water laps at the city’s edge and the arena waits for its next crowd. The venue opened in August 1998 with a handball tournament, but it never settled into a single identity. Local clubs come and go.

It is not a replica of the modern indoor centres found in larger cities. The parquet floor is laid tight and true, and the stands rise steeply on either side, close enough that a player can hear the chatter of the supporters. The roof is low, the lights are bright, and the air is thick with the smell of sweat and polished wood. This is not a place for a sell-out crowd of thousands; it is a place where a game is watched by people who know the players.

The hall has hosted the major tournaments of the world. It held the 2007 Men’s Junior World Handball Championship, when Macedonia played Germany and the highest recorded attendance of 3,300 spectators filled the seats. It has seen the 2008 European Women’s Handball Championship and the 2014 Women’s Youth Handball World Championship.

It is not a museum, but it has aged. The floor is not artificial; it is wood. The venue does not have a single team playing there every week, but it has hosted the annual Krste Andonovski Memorial Tournament, and it has seen concerts by international artists. It is a place that works when you need it to work, and it is not always the first choice for a big event.

The address is bul. Turistichka b1, 6000 Ohrid, but the number means nothing to a visitor who is not looking for a parking space. The arena is part of a larger complex that includes a football stadium, but the basketball and handball hall is where the action is. It is not a temple of football, and it is not a temple of anything else. It is a sports hall in a city that has seen more than its share of change.