By Jaroslaw Adamowski
May 15 – Panathinaikos is planning to overhaul and expand its stadium, according to Giannis Alafouzos, the Greek football club’s chief executive. Construction works at the facility are scheduled to begin in December 2014, and are expected to take between three and four months.
To finance the planned investment, the club is aiming to increase the prices of season tickets by 30%. Those holding tickets for the 2013/2014 season will pay 10% for next season’s tickets.
The amount of the planned investment was not disclosed by Panathinaikos. The club’s Apostolos Nikolaidis stadium currently has a seating capacity of 16,000.
Alafouzos said that the financial situation of Panathinaikos is difficult, and, as a result, higher season ticket prices are reasonable. The chief executive said that about 10,000 season tickets will be made available to Panathinaikos fans.
The announcement comes following the Greek club’s latest achievement. On April 26, Panathinaikos beat rival PAOK 4-1 at Athens’ Olympic Stadium and won the Cup of Greece. Panathinaikos won its 18th Cup title against a backdrop of 34 arrests before the match for possession of fireworks and other forbidden items.
Earlier this year, it was announced that plans by rival Athens-based club AEK to build a new €65 million stadium have obtained the backing of Greece’s Minister of Environment, Energy and Climate Change Yiannis Maniatis who signed a project proposal intended for the Greek parliament.
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