| The
pre-2004 Olympic Stadium (1982 to 2002) |
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This
page presents older photos of the Athens Olympic Stadium, before the
extensive works that literally transformed
it for the 2004 Olympic Games. It was the summer of 2002 that marked
the end of the first era, not just for the stadium, but generally
for the Athens Olympic Sports Complex (AOSC, better known by its initials
in Greek as OAKA).
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The
foundation stone for the Olympic Stadium was laid on 7/1/1980. Its
construction
was revolutionary and involved the use of a prefabrication method
for the 34 sets of pillars
supporting the stands (each weighed 600 tons). About 26,000 seats
of the lower tier were covered, while the stadium's most striking
feature were the four leaning pillars that held its floodlights, each
being 62 metres tall. The Athens Olympic Stadium was finally inaugurated
in September 1982.
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As
it is clear, the stadium was constructed in record time, especially
considering this happend more than 20 years ago. The reason was no
other than the pressing dates for the 1982 European Athletics Championships.
The last great event that the stadium hosted before its recent upgrading
were the 1997 World Athletics Championships.
In the meanwhile, the Athens Olympic Stadium had also served as the venue for two European Cup (later Champions League) finals: On 25/5/83 Hamburg beat Juventus by 1-0, while on 18/5/94 Milan thrashed Barcelona by 4-0. A CupWinners' Cup final was also played there on 13/5/87, when Ajax defeated Lokomotiv Leipzig by 1-0. |
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The
Olympic Stadium was used by the three biggest clubs in Greece as their
home for various time periods. Olympiacos played there from 1984 to
1989 and from 1997 until 2002. Panathinaikos used it as home from
1984 until 2000. AEK Athens also played there from 1985 to 1987. This
means that for a couple of seasons in the mid-1980s the stadium hosted
all three major Greek clubs (which set a record total of 45 games
played and 1,784,844 tickets sold in 1985-86)!
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| You may also visit the following pages related to the stadium: plans, works, new stadium. |
| Aerial photos on this page come from the website of the General Secretariat of Sports |
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