Bakoyannis: “Nothing scares me! In 2026, Votanikos will have the best stadium in Greece”

The belief that the… river does not turn back and that the Panathinaikos will have its own stadium in 2026 in Botanicus expressed Kostas Bakoyannis at the press conference he gave at noon on Monday in Eleonas, shortly after the auction of the project. The mayor of Athens described the project as a vehicle that will awaken the sleeping giant of the region with benefits for both the club and the capital.

At the same time, he reiterated that the financing of the project is secured and the collaborations that have been made guarantee that not a single day will be lost for the realization of the vision. “In 2026 the best stadium in the country will be here,” he said confidently.

“The sleeping giant of Eleonas will wake up”

“We chose to organize the press conference in Eleonas. On the one hand, to ascertain in fact that when we talk about Eleonas we are talking about the wider center of the city, just three kilometers from Omonia, i.e. 10-12 minutes by car, close to the Metro station and as calculated half an hour by average fixed track from any point in Attica. On the other hand, we wanted you to see with your own eyes the harsh reality of Eleonas, because we have received the bill for decades of abandonment and indifference. Take a look around you… Disorderly construction, lack of infrastructure, empty industries, underutilized facilities, few resident-heroes, garbage, rubble… A sleeping giant is Elaionas, which today wakes up with a vehicle the new state-of-the-art Panathinaikos arena”, said Mr. Bakoyannis.

“Botanikos will be cleaned urbanistically, it will acquire modern infrastructure, common areas and green areas. It will develop into an upgraded area in which hundreds of millions of euros will be invested. The city is growing. We have joy, excitement and some pride. The future has begun, the Panathinaikos arena has been finally auctioned. We have here the relevant decision of the financial committee. It is the beginning of the official process. The principle we worked so hard for, so many months, so many years. And no, it’s not a dream. About two hours ago, the financial committee made history, while at the same time the procedures are progressing to start the preliminary works until Christmas. Be patient a little more and very soon the bulldozers will be working where we are. For so many years we have heard many promises and had many disappointments. Disappointment and cynicism rightly prevailed. But whatever you knew, forget it. The Double Redevelopment is coming to fruition, it is the biggest intervention in the urban planning history of Athens. Double Regeneration is a development program with two poles, a deeply social program because it is coming to change the face of Athens. We will gain in Alexandras an oxygen lung and at the same time in Botanikos a new city is created with the arena as a vehicle. The city of Athens is expanding, with all the criteria of sustainability. Our plan in Eleonas envisages a little less than 50% greenery. Everything that has gone wrong in Athens, we want to do right in Eleonas.

I want to say a public thank you to the relevant ministers and of course to our opponents. PAE Panathinaikos and Yiannis Alafouzos, Erasitechnis and Panagiotis Malakate and AEP Eleonas. I thank the people of Panathinaikos from the bottom of my heart because they showed faith and supported our vision for the city team to have a modern home, a champion arena where I am sure we will experience great moments.

We are talking about a multifaceted project, it took more than two years of work and we are talking about four ministries and the European Union. We managed to overcome many obstacles, bureaucratic and not only. The truth is that we wouldn’t have gotten this far without teamwork. I want to say a thank you to all of our faction in the Municipality and especially to the responsible great team of the Municipality. In 2026, a modern stadium will be erected here, with a capacity of at least 38,500 and up to 40,000 seats. The arena will include 1,300 seats in suites, 325 parking spaces and 7 shops. It will reflect the dynamics of the city, attracting visitors not only for racing, but also for sightseeing. We want, through recreation areas, to stimulate the bonds of the public with the team and to bring families back to the stadium.

Not only is the stadium in a historic spot, but it overlooks the Acropolis. The budget amounts to 123 million euros including VAT, the funding is fully secured by the public investment program and the recovery fund. The Municipality tenders the design and construction at the same time to save time. Today we took a very big step, but we have a long way to go. We have no right to rest. According to our road map, the auction of infrastructure and facilities of the Amateur is pending. We will stick to our schedules, though.”

-for the schedules for Amateurs and the perimeter projects: “The goal is to meet the schedules and we meet them. We are where we want to be based on our commitments. Practically there are two major projects, one the facilities of the Amateur and the other the infrastructure. For the first, the study is almost complete, there is a very good cooperation and we are talking about facilities of over 7 thousand square meters. It will be a hive for everyone. It’s only a matter of time before we start with the permits. For infrastructure, the study is being completed and we will soon announce dates. We are under time pressure because of the recovery fund.”

– about when Panathinaikos will enter the new stadium: “It is absolutely possible to enter the new stadium in 2026. This is also our goal. From there we have a path ahead of us with a series of bureaucratic issues. The auction is completely shielded.”

-for the name: “We have great glories and a glorious history. Commercial usage and trademark are included in the agreements. Any other form of name will be the product of discussion with both the Amateur and the PAE, but also the product of consultation with the Athenians. It will be the home of Panathinaikos, but our national team will also be able to play.”

-about the expropriations and whether something scares him: “Nothing scares me. Nothing scares me anymore. When we started 2-2.5 years ago we had a mountain of obstacles in front of us. We overcame them one by one, with help and cooperation. Now the water has entered the groove. We can feel a sense of security, but it does not mean that we can rest. We have to be on top and be careful. I really believe that here in 2026 we will enjoy the best stadium in Greece. We are OK with the financing, we still have two small outstandings with the expropriations in the wider area”.

-for changes to the plan: “The modifications made are very small in relation to the size of the project. Practically, the commercial uses. We fully honor our commitments. We are concerned with the sustainability of the project, we don’t want a white elephant, but to be sure that the project will be maintained. There are both underground and above ground parking spaces. The total number does not decrease. A ditch is not foreseen in the study, it is something that will be discussed.”

-for the Panathinaikos museum: “A space is planned inside the stadium, but also a museum where the Avenue is now.”

– about the projects undertaken by the district and whether they will be delivered on time: “In our model there are no accompanying projects implemented by the Region. The stadium and infrastructure projects are tendered and implemented by the Municipality. The projects were auctioned today, the rest very soon. We will not throw the ball of responsibility right and left. It is our responsibility to deliver the stadium on time, it is a bet we have made and we will win it.”

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