Champions League club unveils ambitious £214m plans for new 53,000‑seat stadium after 22-year wait

Olympiacos have announced plans to build a brand new £214 million stadium, which would be ready for use by 2028.

The Greek club, who have won the Super League a record 48 times, have largely played their home games at the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium for the last 130 years.

Marinakis unveils ambitious stadium plans

The Karaiskakis Stadium was demolished and rebuilt ahead of the 2004 Olympics, expanding its capacity to 33,334.

However, Olympiacos owner Evangelos Marinakis, who also owns Premier League side Nottingham Forest and Brazilian club Rio Ave, has unveiled plans for a new 53,000-seat stadium.

Marinakis said: “Today is a historic day for our Olympic! It is a historic day, both for the city that gave birth to the legend of sports, our Piraeus, but also for Greece.

“Today we will present to you the largest project ever presented in the history of Greek Football, a unique project for which no state resources were requested, were not given and will not be given, and no Greek taxpayer will be burdened. Unfortunately, however, the government has delayed us and I don’t understand why, since I repeat that we are not asking the state for even half a euro!

“In contrast to what happened with other stadiums, which were not delayed and were given as property, to private businesses with express procedures! Stadiums that were paid for in part or in full by the Greek taxpayer, the Greek people.

“I would like to inform you that from our side, millions of euros have already been spent on studies and preparation, and we are fully prepared for the construction part, just as the large construction company that has undertaken the project is also ready and already working.

“We are requesting a regulation regarding height from September 2025, and if we had it, we would already have a building permit. We also request a time extension of the contract with the Hellenic Olympic Committee to which we will voluntarily offer a large financial compensation.

“If we had the arrangement, we would start this year in May and could enter the field in August 2028. A year has already been lost for no reason. The project, which will cost more than 250 million euros, will be financed by Olympiacos and me personally and will be the theatre of our dreams, which will be open 365 days a year!”

FGG says: An impressive proposal from Olympiacos

This has been 22 years in the making for Olympiacos and the new Karaiskakis Stadium sounds like it will be a remarkable ground to visit once completed.

The existing stadium has hosted a number of major events, including the 2023 UEFA Super Cup and the 2004 Olympics, and the new one will surely host plenty more.