Plans for Amateur Panathinaikos Sports Club Facilities Approved

Athens Mayor Kostas Bakoyannis (center) presenting the plans for the new Panathinaikos amateur club facilities. Photo source: Athens Municipality.

Athens Mayor Kostas Bakoyannis presented this week plans for one of the largest urban regeneration projects in Athens: the creation of facilities to house the amateur Panathinaikos sports club in the western Athens suburb of Votanikos.

The ambitious project, which in addition to serving the needs of Panathinaikos’ amateur club, aims to establish the area into a “sports destination“, is scheduled to be completed in two years’ time after construction begins. Licensing is set to be granted by the end of 2023.

The facilities, to include football fields, training facilities and swimming pool, will be constructed at Votanikos, where a 38,500-seat football stadium for the historic Panathinaikos sports club is already under way.

Photorealistic depiction of the exterior of the Panathinaikos amateur club. Photo source: Municipality of Athens

The construction of the football stadium is part of a long-delayed urban regeneration project for the Votanikos area. The second phase of the project will focus on the creation of a park, a sports museum, a cafe and an underground parking area on Alexandras Avenue in Ambelokipi, central Athens, where the former Panathinaikos stadium was built in 1922. The second part of the project will be completed after 2026, said Bakoyannis.

“Today we ‘pass the ball’ to the future generations… the state-of-the-art facilities for the Panathinaikos amateur club will house the dreams of hundreds of thousands of children of Athens,” said Bakoyannis of the project to be implemented by the Municipality of Athens through mixed national, EU and private funding.

“The new Panathinaikos facilities are modern, functional, the best for the future of Greece… the decades-long dreams of Panathinaikos will finally come true,” said Panagiotis Malakates during the press conference.

Photorealistic depiction of the Panathinaikos amateur club indoor arena and surrounding facilities. Photo source: Municipality of Athens

According to plans, the 8,140m2 multipurpose complex at Votanikos will include a central indoor gym (arena) for sporting events with a capacity of 3,100 spectators, sanitary facilities and cafeterias; a gym and multi-sport training area; multi-purpose space with 200 seats; training areas for weightlifting, wrestling, boxing, table tennis, fencing, shooting, and archery; a training center for people with disabilities; two strength-training areas; an Olympic size open pool with 500 seats; office spaces; a boutique and souvenir shop; a VIP lounge; a press room; a cafe with views to the Acropolis; and an underground garage for 125 vehicles.

The contract between the Municipality of Athens and a consortium of companies last month paved the way for the construction of a 38,500-seat football stadium for Athens’ historic Panathinaikos sports club in Votanikos.