A new 40-000 seat Panathinaikos football stadium will be constructed in the western Athens neighbourhood of Votanikos.
Work is beginning following the signing of an agreement between Athens Mayor Kostas Bakoyannis, Development Minister Adonis Georgiadis, Panathinaikos club representatives Yiannis Alafouzos and Panagiotis Malakates for the amateur club, Attica Regional Governor Giorgos Patoulis and Alpha Bank CEO Vassilis Psaltis.
“Step by step, Athens is tying up the loose ends of the past. Ambitious growth projects for the city that have been in drawers for decades are being put on the path of creation and completion,” Athens Mayor Kostas Bakoyannis said.
The new project will replace the former Panathinaikos stadium 'Leoforos Stadium' which was inaugurated in 1922 and is the oldest football stadium in Greece currently active.
On his part, Yiannis Alafouzos said: “Today is a historic moment for Panathinaikos. A decades-long dream for the sports club to acquire a home is being materialized. The sport club, the heart of the group, will finally acquire the facilities that suit its history as the most diverse club in Greece."
In addition, the long-delayed project includes the construction of a 12,500 seat basketball arena, a volleyball stadium, an Olympic-size swimming pool, gymnastic facilities and a large park.
Development & Investments Minister Adonis Georgiadis hailed the project as a “success story," adding that it will endow the residents of the Greek capital with a new much-needed park, the soccer club with modern facilities and the state and municipality with an important source of revenue.
The project is scheduled to be completed in three years.
Panathinaikos
Panathinaikos Football Club (ΠΑΕ Παναθηναϊκός Α.Ο), is a Greek professional football club based in the capital-city of Athens, Greece. The name was inspired by the ancient work of Isocrates, Panathenaicus, where the orator praises the Athenians for their democratic education and their military superiority, used for the benefit of all Greeks.
