After completing my second talk at Devoxx Greece, I had over two days to explore Athens before flying home: museums, sights, food, and everything else I could squeeze in.
On the list of potentials was seeing the 2004 Summer Olympic Stadium, as I’ve visited others whenever possible, e.g. Berlin, Helsinki, London, and I’d already visited the Athens Panathenaic Stadium for the first modern Olympics in 1896. The stadium was originally built in 1982 for the European Athletics Championships and heavily remodeled for the 2004 Olympics.
The Olympic Stadium is currently the home grounds of Panathinaikos F.C, and conveniently a home game was scheduled: I would be watching Panathinaikos v Paok (Greek: ΠΑΝΑΘΗΝΑΪΚΟΣ v. ΠΑΟΚ) in the Super League Playoffs. And off I went.
Getting To/In The Stadium
The stadium is located in Maroussi, a suburb of Athens. Only one public transportation option existed: a combination metro and bus ride. The metro was late, the bus was early, and I missed the connection. I waited thirty minutes for the next bus. Definitely not off to a good stop.
Even though the bus stop is named Athens Olympic Stadium, you now walk 1.2km/.75 miles to the stadium. Acres of parking lots surround the stadium, so it’s 15-20 minutes before you actually reach the gates.
Tickets
I arrived without a ticket, expecting to find a ticket booth to buy a last-second ticket and get in. Nope. All tickets are purchased online through Ticketmaster Greece. Imagine my surprise when asked to provide a Greek national identity number or passport details. Frantically typing everything in, I eventually was able to purchase a ticket and get a QR code to let me in.
Getting In
The stadium exterior is surrounded by fencing with what seemed like a fairly small number of gates to go through. Your QR code is scanned and – if your account hasn’t been verified, as mine had just been created – you have to show your identity and have it match the purchased ticket. Surprisingly, the security guards appeared unfamiliar with passports and I had to carefully point out my name and match it to the ticket.
Now I’ve entered the inner ring where drinks, foods and snacks are purchased, but you’re still not in the stadium. After walking around the exterior to find my gate, I must repeat the same security procedure: scan the QR code, show my passport, point out the details. Each gate is fenced in including on the top so that you can only enter through the security gate. I can only assume that hooliganism is rife in Greece.
Thoughts On The Stadium
Not very impressive for the country’s supposed national stadium. The expansive metal used to create the roof for the Olympics is painted white, but the paint is dull, dirty, peeling, with rust stains in many places. The seats are cheap, uncomfortable white plastic which have not aged well under the Athens sun.
Greece football does not have the crowds of the leading English Premier League teams, therefore only lower-level seats are sold: the empty upper-level is somewhat disturbing or distracting. The gradual elevation of the seats means you’re either low and (somewhat) close or higher and farther away. My seat was in a lower row and behind the corner-kick location, making it difficult to see play on the far side of the pitch.
After sundown, the stadium felt gloomy as the spectator areas were under poorly lighted, at least in my experience. I left at halftime, and the lighting in the public areas as I left were also underwhelming.
Olympic Legacy
Many online articles discuss the venues abandoned and left to rot soon after the Olympics completed. Varying reasons exists: some sports are not played in Greece and therefore the venues are not necessary; Greece had no post-Olympics plans on the maintenance or repurposing of venues; and Greece hit hard by the global financial crisis. In 2010, the International Monetary Fund provided financing under tight austerity requirements to avoid the country going bankrupt.
The stadium was closed due to safety concerns in 2023 when preparing for its first renovations since the Olympics, only reopening in May 2024. The football teams that play there left before the Olympics but ended up returning after their stadiums no longer met safety regulations. Seems like there’s a recurring theme here.
Final Thoughts
Old, out-of-date. Falling apart. Depressing. Underwhelming. Useless. Though major renovations are planned, it appears to be a white elephant that no one has yet come up with better ideas on what to do, whether keeping it or creating more appropriate venues.
And Uber got me back to my hotel in a more timely manner than returning on the bus.
Image Credits
- “Athens: Olympic Stadium” by wallyg is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
- All other images © 2025 Scott C Sosna
