New Karaiskaki Stadium
What follows is a presentation of the new Karaiskaki Stadium.
You may also view three more related pages, loaded with information and pictures:
- The old Karaiskaki (1895-1964-2003), including the Gate 7 tragedy of 1981
- The plans and models for the reconstruction of Karaiskaki Stadium
- The proposals for the new stadium of Olympiakos, which never realized
All photographs featured on this page are presented in smaller size.
You may enlarge any of them and see it in full size by simply clicking on it.
Capacity: 32,115 (seated)
Location:
Karaiskaki is located in Piraeus, on the Faliro coastal zone (2 km to Piraeus centre, 10 km to Athens and 32 km to the new Athens International Airport). Access by:
- Car. The stadium is on the coastal Possidonos Avenue, just as you enter Piraeus, right across the indoor Peace and Friendship Stadium (SEF). You cannot miss it.
- Bus. All city-buses from Athens to Piraeus stop near the stadium, either on the coastal avenue (get off at "Stathmos ISAP" stop) or on Pireos Street ("Elais" stop).
- Metro. Use line 1 to "Faliro" station, right outside the stadium. The easiest way to get there.
- Tram. The terminus of tram lines 3 and 4 is "SEF", right next to "Faliro" metro station.
Built in: 1895 (as "Velodrome"), 1964 (as "Karaiskaki Stadium"), 2004 (the new stadium)
Record attendance: 42,415 (Olympiacos CFP vs AEK Athens FC - on 7 April 1965)
Home of: Olympiacos CFP (Superleague)
More data: The stadium was originally built as a velodrome for the 1st Olympic Games of 1896. It was constructed on a site owned by the Athens-Piraeus train company, which was given free of charge to the Hellenic Olympic Committee. The Velodrome ("Podilatodromio" in Greek) started to be used primarily as a football ground in the 1920s. Its orientation was north-south, with one goal facing the sea and the other Pireos Street.

It was almost totally reconstructed in the 1960s, taking the form of an olympic stadium with an athletics track around the football pitch. It also changed orientation to east-west, with one goal facing Piraeus and the other Neo Faliro. At that same time the stadium was renamed after Georgios Karaiskakis, a general in the Greek Revolution against the Turks (1821), who was killed not far from where the stadium stands. Karaiskaki kept this shape until 2003, having however fallen in disrepair, especially after Olympiacos left it in 1998. You may find more information about the "old" Karaiskaki Stadium in the relevant page.
After a long-lasting saga (you can read many reports about it in the News section), the use of Karaiskaki passed to Olympiacos CFP in April 2003. The club undertook the responsibility to build a brand new football-only ground in its place, to be used during the 2004 Olympic Games. In return, Olympiacos were granted exclusive use of the stadium until 2052. The club have to cover all maintenance costs and also pay 15% of revenue to the State.

The old stadium was demolished in the spring of 2003 and works for the construction of the new one commenced. They were based on the architectural study of aa-Asociates and Decathlon S.A. The whole project was constructed by J&P-AVAX S.A. in the record period of only 14 months. It was completed on 30/6/2004 at a total cost of € 60 million.
The stadium's orientation changed to north-south, vertical to the old Karaiskaki. It is essentially a mixed construction, using concrete up to the level of the concourse (+6.4m) and metal parts over that. The reason for this choice of materials and building method was mainly time pressure to get the stadium ready for the Olympics, but also the reduction of cost.
The whole bowl of seats is covered by a roof, supported by 14 red metal towers, 37m tall and 43m long. A total of 70 grey radial beams, with an individual length of 42m, form the bearing system for the roof, made out of a special translucent membrane (Ferrari 1302 Fluotop T2 polyester fabric). If you want to get inside Karaiskaki Stadium, click on the next icon ->
There are 34 entrance gates leading to the stands (numbered from 1 to 35, no gate 13). Service areas and snack-bars for fans are located on the concourse level, below the stands. The new stadium features two video-scoreboards, 1500 lux floodlights and CCTV (72 cameras).
The west stand houses the seating area for disabled fans (50 places provided) and facilities for the press and the media. Behind this west stand is the VIP building, which hosts: the bar and the restaurant, both with pitch-views (on the 2nd floor); and the 40 VIP boxes (on the 3rd and 4th floors). VIP boxes range from 29 to 65 sq m. Thirty of them are for 10 people, four for 15, three for 18, two can hold 20, while there is also one "Presidential" box. All these provide access to the specially designated "VIP tier", which has a capacity of 474.

The rest three stands of the stadium house the commercial arcade, an area of 6,500 sq m that includes the Olympiacos CFP museum and the "Red Store", which sells club merchandise. Apart from that, there are also restaurants, snack-bars, various shops, a health club, etc.

The stadium's open-air car park has space for 1,123 vehicles. As noted previously, however, Karaiskaki is well served by all means of public transport. Additionally, a special ramp connects "Faliro" metro station directly with the stadium's concourse level, providing easy access to fans.
Following below are photographs of the new Karaiskaki Stadium's interior areas.
You may click on any of the thumbnails to see the relevant picture in full size.
Entering the VIP building - two of the guest lifts
The entrance to the VIP restaurant
The VIP restaurant of Karaiskaki
Having a lunch with a view of the football pitch
The VIP bar, also on the 2nd floor of the building
The football pitch, as seen from the VIP bar
The entrance to the "Presidential" box
The interior of one of the VIP boxes
A full service is available to VIP guests
The tier that is accessible only to VIPs
The stadium, as seen from the VIP tier
The VIP boxes and the roof of Karaiskaki
The entrance for the athletes to dressing rooms
The entrance to the football pitch of Karaiskaki
The last pictures are not interior views, but are still worth your attention...
The area below the stands of Karaiskaki
The Red Store of Olympiacos CFP at the stadium
The monument for the victims of Gate 7, outside the stadium
The first Champ. League match at Karaiskaki
Gate 7 at Olympiacos vs Liverpool
Minor works continued at the newly-built stadium during the course of the 2004-05 season. As a result, the look of Karaiskaki has changed slightly, compared to the photos that are featured on this page. The most important of these modifications are visible in the 5 photos that follow. All were shot in the spring of 2005 (again, you may enlarge any of them, to see it in full size).
The name of the home club on the east stand
The new look of Karaiskaki's VIP tier
The main entrance of Karaiskaki
Karaiskaki, as seen from the hill of Kastella
Karaiskaki, as seen from the south
Karaiskaki Stadium is owned by the Hellenic Olympic Committee. In 2003 its use (but not its ownership) was granted by the Greek State to Olympiacos CFP for the next 49 years.
The first aerial photo comes from the official website of the Athens2004 Organizing Committee
Finally, many thanks to Ms Rika Antonopoulou of IntraDevelopment S.A. for all her valuable help
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