Karaiskakis Stadium

Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium
The Karaiskakis Stadium in Piraeus
Earlier names
Velodrome Neo Faliro (1895–1964)
Data
place	Piraeus , Greece
Coordinates	37 ° 56 '47.1 "  N , 23 ° 39' 51.8"  E Coordinates: 37 ° 56 '47.1 "  N , 23 ° 39' 51.8"  E
classification	4th
owner	Hellenic Olympic Committee
operator	Olympiacos Piraeus
opening	1895
Renovations	1960, 2004 (new building)
demolition	2004
surface	Natural grass
capacity	33,296 seats
playing area	105 × 68 m
Societies)
Olympiacos Piraeus (1925–1984, 1989–1997, since 2004)
Events
Games by Ethnikos Piraeus (1924-2000) Games of the Greek national football team (1964–1994, 2004–2017) Games of the Greek national women's football team (2008-2017) European Athletics Championships 1969 Olympic football tournament 2004

The Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium ( Greek Γήπεδο Γεώργιος Καραϊσκάκης , short: Karaiskakis Stadium ) is a football stadium in the Greek port city of Piraeus . It is the home ground of the Olympiacos Piraeus football club and offers 33,296 seats to visitors. The facility is named after the freedom fighter Georgios Karaiskakis , who was fatally wounded nearby during the Greek Revolution in 1827 .

history

In 1895 the stadium was built as the Velodrome Neo Faliro for the track bike races of the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 on a site donated by a railway company. It was first used as a football stadium in 1920. In 1960 extensive renovations took place; the stadium became a multi-purpose stadium, and athletics competitions could be held. On October 10, 1974, the first public concert by the composer Mikis Theodorakis and his musicians after the end of the military dictatorship in Greece (1967–1974) took place here.

On February 8, 1981, the worst football accident in Greece occurred here. When Olympiacos led Athens 6-0 against AEK , visitors tried to leave the stadium early. Falling spectators at a locked grandstand gate were trampled by following people. 21 people died and 32 were injured.

Since the Greek national soccer team was coached by Otto Rehhagel from 2001 to 2010, international matches have also taken place in the stadium; until then it had been customary to have their games take place in the Olympic Stadium in Athens .

In 1998 Olympiakos' contract for the use of the stadium ended, and from the 1990s the option of rebuilding or moving was explored. In 2002 the plans for the new building were presented, which Olympiacos supported. The new contract provides for the site to be used until 2052. Sokratis Kokkalis , the club's owner at the time, also included the use of the stadium by Ethnikos Piraeus in the new contract, as the latter had once shared the area with Olympiakos. The site is owned by the National Olympic Committee (NOK) of Greece. The stadium was demolished and rebuilt in a record time of only 14 months.

In the arena, which was completed in 2004 (not primarily for the 2004 Summer Olympics ), several games of the Olympic football tournament took place, including the women's finals for bronze ( Germany against Sweden 1: 0) and gold ( USA against Brazil 2: 1 a.d.).

Today the football-only arena is home to the most successful Greek club, Olympiacos Piraeus. In addition, the Greek national soccer team used the venue for their games until 2017. From 2008 to 2017, the Greek national soccer team played games in the Karaiskakis Stadium.

location

The stadium is located in the Neo Faliro district of Piraeus, near the port. The tram and the metro intersect directly at the stadium . The stations are between the Karaiskakis Stadium and the neighboring Stadium of Peace and Friendship ("SEF").

gallery

• 

  Photo from 1896

• 

  Fan choreography for the first leg in the round of 16 of the 2007/08 UEFA Champions League on February 19, 2008 between Olympiacos and Chelsea FC (0-0)

• 

  Group match of the 2009/10 UEFA Champions League on December 9, 2009 between Olympiacos and Arsenal FC (1-0)

Web links

Commons : Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium  - collection of images

• Stadium website
• G. Karaiskakis Stadium History
• G. Karaiskakis Stadium Virtual Tour
• New Karaiskaki Stadium
• Neo Stadio Karaiskaki
• Stadio Georgios Karaiskáki - Pireás (Piraeus)
• Stádio Georgios Karaiskakis
• Karaiskakis Stadium

Individual evidence

1. ^ List of Greek stadiums
2. ↑ Volker Kluge : Olympic Summer Games. Chronicle I. Athens 1896 - Berlin 1936. Sportverlag Berlin, Berlin 1997, ISBN 3-328-00715-6 , pp. 29 and 39.
3. ↑ Rick Carpenter says: Karaiskakis Stadium - Olympiakos - Piraeus - The Stadium Guide. Retrieved July 7, 2019 (American English).