Pankritio Stadium

The Pankritio Stadium (Greek: Παγκρήτιο Στάδιο, Pagkritio Stadio, literally: Pancretan Stadium) is a multi-purpose sports stadium located in Heraklion on the island of Crete. It was completed on 31 December 2003, and officially opened on August 11, 2004. As one of the most modern sports venues in Greece at the time, it was used as one of the football venues to host matches of the 2004 Summer Olympics Football tournament. It has a capacity of 26,240 seats, and is currently the home ground of Heraklion football club Ergotelis, and on occasion, the Greece national football team.

History

The stadium broke ground sometime during the late 80s, however construction work was not completed on time, and was eventually indefinitely postponed. Once Greece won the bid to host the 2004 Summer Olympics, construction of the stadium was finally picked up once again in 2001. It was eventually completed on 31 December 2003. The total construction cost was estimated at €50,000,000. The new stadium was officially opened on 11 August 2004, to host an international friendly game between Greece and Switzerland.

Due to its size, age and ranking, the Pankritio was selected as one of the football venues of the 2004 Summer Olympics Football Tournament, hosting in total 10 matches (5 men's Group Stage matches, 2 women's Group Stage matches, one men's Quarterfinals match, one women's Quarterfinals match and one women's Semi-Final match). After the tournament, the stadium was rented out, and has since been used as a training and home ground of the city's football club Ergotelis, and occasionally also by the Greek national football team. In 2006, the Pankritio hosted the 2005–06 Greek Cup Final, the first to be played in Heraklion since 1931.

Although primarily considered a football stadium, the Pankritio, has also been used to host major athletics events, such as the 2004 Tsiklitiria annual IAAF World Challenge meeting and the 2015 European Team Championships First League. The stadium has also been used for a number

This page also has a version in other languages :  Панкритио Стадион (russian)