| February 20th, 2003 After... wandering around Athens, the new stadium of Panathinaikos FC might be their current one! The president of the club met yesterday with the Minister of Culture and made an official proposal for the complete reconstruction of "APOSTOLOS NIKOLAIDIS" STADIUM (Leoforos). Note that one year ago Panathinaikos proposed the upgrading of Leoforos (addition of second tier on two stands). The new plan is however totally different, as it calls for an entirely new stadium with a capacity of 35,000 to be built. The main feature is the change of orientation (from east-west to north-south), with goals being on the side of Alexandras Avenue and Lycabettus Hill. In order for this to be possible, however, a large area must be expropriated (Panathinaikos want to be given free use for 99 years), schools need to be relocated, part of Alexandras Avenue must be covered and Tsoha Street completely closed. Panathinaikos say they will fund the whole project, although the amateur division of the club (who "rent" the stadium from the Municipality of Athens) have yet to show any agreement to the plan. What is more, the State must give its permission for the whole thing to go through. The first reaction from the Government was "we are looking into this proposal". Related articles: Apostolos Nikolaidis (Leoforos) Stadium may be expanded (31/10/01) Panathinaikos will build their new stadium at Hellinikon (1/9/01) New site proposed for Panathinaikos's new stadium (12/8/01) Panathinaikos demand an area to build their new stadium (7/7/01) |