Karaiskakis Stadium

The site on Poseidonos Avenue is defined by its history. Before the current structure took shape in June 2004, this patch of land hosted the Neo Phaliron Velodrome since 1896, a relic of the first modern Olympic Games that later became a football ground renamed Karaiskakis Stadium in 1964.

What you see now is a structure stripped of its athletics track. The original East-West orientation shifted to North-South, and the 14 red metal towers that hold the roof do more than provide cover. The surface, updated with SIS Grass Hybrid technology in 2016, sits beneath floodlights.

There are no grand claims to make about the architecture. The capacity is the number that fits the seat count. It has also hosted concerts, but the football is what the stands were rebuilt for.

The ads along the perimeter change, the faces on the banners change, but the geometry of the place does not.