Arka Gdynia, also known as AMW Arka Gdynia for sponsorship reasons, is a Polish professional basketball team, based in Gdynia. The team plays in the Polish PLK. The club's sponsorship name comes from Akademią Marynarki Wojennej. Historically the team is one of the most successful in Poland, mainly because of the nine championships in a row the team won from 2004 to 2012.
The team was founded in 1995, as STK Trefl Sopot. In its first season, the team won the Polish third division and promotion to the Polish second division. In the 1996–97 season, after winning Group B of the Polish second division, the team was promoted to the top Polish Basketball League, the Dominet Bank Ekstraliga.
In 2003, Prokom Trefl played in the final of the FIBA Europe Champions Cup, against Aris. Starting in 2004, the team began to play in the EuroLeague. In its first EuroLeague season, the club became the first Polish team to reach the EuroLeague's Top 16 stage. In 2009, the club relocated from Sopot to its neighbouring city of Gdynia within the Tricity. Through the 2012–13 season, it was one of 14 clubs across Europe that held Euroleague Basketball A Licenses, which (normally) gave their holders an automatic place in the Regular Season phase of the EuroLeague.[1]
In 2018, the club changed its name to Arka Gdynia. It also made a return to European-wide competitions for the first time in 6 years, by playing in the 2018–19 EuroCup.
Names
Trefl Sopot (1995–1998)
Prokom Trefl Sopot (1998–2008)
Asseco Prokom Sopot (2008–2009)
Asseco Prokom Gdynia (2009–2013)
Asseco Gdynia (2013–2018)
Arka Gdynia (2018–2019)
Asseco Arka Gdynia (2019–2022)
Suzuki Arka Gdynia (2022–2024)
AMW Arka Gdynia (2024–present)
Arena
Since 2009, Arka Gdynia has played its home games at the 5,500 seat Gdynia Sports Arena.