Work on the refurbishment of the Bonifika Arena in Koper, one of the five venues of this year's Eurobasket, started last week and are expected to be finished by the end of July.

The workers in Koper will replace the stands and scoreboards and refurbish locker rooms, court floor and accompanying facilities, including a mix zone, a representative of the local organisers has told the press.

There is a great interest in matches in the city on the Slovenian coast among Finnish and Swedish fans, and the organisers expect between 1,000 and 1,500 visitors from Scandinavia to show up for the tournament.

The overhaul of the Podmežakla Arena in Jesenice in north-western Slovenia and projects related to the EuroBasket 2013 were also presented to the press last week.

The organisers said the works are running on schedule and that the venue will be ready for a warm-up match between Slovenia and Bosnia-Herzegovina on 16 August.

As part of the overhaul, which is co-financed by the EU and the Slovenian Ministry of Education, Science and Sport, the workers have already reconstructed the roof and are currently working on the exterior and installations.

The Zlatorog Arena in Celje, where the host nation will play its first round matches, is ready to also accommodate scores of Czech, Polish, Georgian and Spanish basketball fans.

The city will host a warm-up tournament in August and Celje Mayor Bojan Šrot believes that it will be a good test for the organisers in terms of the readiness of the venue and other capacities.

The arena will need some minor adjustments in accordance with the requirements from FIBA. It will get a special section for around 250 accredited media members.