CHELSEA are visiting Panathinaikos in the League Phase of the Conference League tonight at Athens Olympic Stadium.
The Olympic Athletic Center of Athens (OAKA) has been used on and off by PAO ever since 2005 as they swap between Greece’s largest stadium and their historic ground of Apostolos Nikolaidis.
The Greek giants competed at their traditional home – also known simply as Leoforos because of its position at Alexandra’s Avenue in the centre of the capital – last season.
However, Diego Alonso’s side returned to OAKA for this term after previous issues with the stadium’s roof were dealt with to the satisfaction of Uefa.
This comes after the ground, named after famous 1896 Olympic hero Spiros Louis, had to close due to concerns over the stability of its steel dome last year.
Greek press claimed authorities lost a manual with detailed instructions regarding the dome’s maintenance left behind by architect Santiago Calatrava – who built the landmark in 2004.
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However, OAKA has reopened this season and the Blues will be playing in the same venue that hosted the 2004 Olympics as well as the Champions League final in 1983, 1994 and 2007.
The Athens stadium holds a capacity of 70,000, which makes it larger than every Premier League ground bar Manchester United’s Old Trafford and Wembley.
The club are paying rent to the Greek state, which is worth in the range of €300,000 (£250,000).
PAO have experienced immense success at OAKA in the past having beaten the likes of Juventus, Roma and Feyenoord – that was also where they hosted Ajax in the 1995-96 Champions League semi-finals.
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But it doesn’t compare to the glory Panathinaikos have tasted at Leoforos as that is where they played in the 1970-71 campaign.
That was when Ferenc Puskas’ side made it to the European Cup final – eliminating Everton in the quarter-finals along the way – at Wembley where they were beaten by Johan Cruyff’s Ajax.
Panathinaikos later enjoyed even more European success at Leoforos as they made it to the Champions League quarter-finals in the 2001-02 campaign by beating the likes of Arsenal and Barcelona.
However, this season the ground is being used by Superleague opponents Kallithea, who are renting it out and are tasked with the venue’s maintenance.
The Greek club needed to meet the necessary top flight requirements to host games, such as installing CCTV, but that would have cost them around €500,000 (£416,000).
And so a decision was made to move to a stadium that already has the necessary gear, while Panathinaikos make a profit without having to worry about maintenance while playing in Marousi.
Leoforos holds a capacity of 16,620, which is far larger than the average 2,454 attendance rate Kallithea are currently recording this season.
Panathinaikos are currently working on building their own stadium at Votanikos – a project that has been in the works in the last two decades.
Moving to a new stadium
However, Greek reports suggest the state of the art ground, which is expected to hold a capacity of over 40,000, will be completed by Christmas of 2026 or New Year’s Day of 2027.
Nevertheless, as per the current rate of construction, the stadium could open its doors in time for the 2027-28 season.
OAKA is expected to be at full capacity tonight due to Chelsea’s visit, which will see manager Enzo Maresca missing key players.
Levi Colwill, Reece James, Malo Gusto, Moises Caicedo and Nicolas Jackson are left out.
And of course Marcus Bettinelli, Wesley Fofana, Ben Chilwell, Romeo Lavia as well as star man Cole Palmer were omitted from the Conference League list.
Tonight will be an emotional match as it marks Panathinaikos’ first home game since star man George Baldock’s tragic death two weeks ago, therefore a series of tributes have been organised.
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Both teams will be wearing black armbands while a minute’s silence will be held in Sheffield United legend Baldock’s memory.
And Oaka has been filled with posters, which read: ” There’s a starman is waiting in the sky”.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
