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.

Pankritio Stadium
LocationHeraklion, Crete, Greece
Coordinates35°20′12″N 25°6′22″E
OwnerHellenic Olympic Committee
OperatorCity of Heraklion
Capacity26,240[1]
Record attendance27,950 (Ergotelis-Olympiacos, 20 February 2005)[2]
Field size105 x 68 m
SurfaceGrass
ScoreboardLED
Construction
Broke ground1990
BuiltDecember 31, 2003
OpenedAugust 11, 2004
Construction cost€ 50,000,000
ArchitectVassilis Floudas & Associates
Tenants
Ergotelis (2004−present)
Greece national football team (2020–present)
Former Tenants:
OFI Crete (2006−2009)
Website
www.aahaeota.gr

Location

The Pankritio Stadium is located in Heraklion, at the Lido district to the west of the city center. It has been built about 50 meters from the island coast, and is neighbored by the Lido Indoor Hall and the city's outdoor pool venue,[3] of which the whole district is named after (Lido).

History

The stadium broke ground sometime during the late 80s, however construction work was never completed on time, and was eventually indefinitely postponed.[3] Once Greece won the bid to host the 2004 Summer Olympics, construction of the stadium was finally picked up once again in 2001.[3] It was eventually completed on 31 December 2003.[3] The total construction cost was estimated at €50,000,000.[3] The new stadium was officially opened on 11 August 2004, to host an international friendly game between Greece and Switzerland.[4]

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).[5] 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.[5] 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.[5] The stadium has also been used for a number of music concerts, most notably hosting Deep Purple and Vasilis Papakonstantinou on May 6, 2011.[6]

Facilities

The Pankritio Stadium sports complex features in total two football grounds built to international standards (main stadium and training ground), an 8-lane track, an auxiliary 6-lane track, an indoor gym and swimming pool, multi-purpose halls for boxing, wrestling, fencing, dance, weightlifting, shooting and tae kwon do, a rowing simulator and a physiotherapy room with sauna and hot tub.[5] Additionally, the stadium features seminar meeting rooms, a dining room, and a showroom featuring exhibits from the 2004 Summer Olympics and 2011 Special Olympics.[5]

Panorama of the stadium

The complex is neighbored by the city's outdoor swimming pool and the Lido Indoor Hall.[3]

Tenants

The stadium has been used as the home ground of Football League football team Ergotelis, since its opening in 2004, as their traditional home turf Nikos Kazantzakis Stadium was declared unfit for use in official matches at any level of the Greek football league system since 2004. Between 2006 and 2009, the stadium was also used by Ergotelis' rival OFI, before they returned to their original home ground, Theodoros Vardinogiannis Stadium.

On occasion, the Pankritio has also hosted home games of the Greek national football team, notably attracting large numbers of spectators from all over the island.

Records

The stadium attendance record and first ever sold-out event was set on 20 February 2005, in a Superleague match between Ergotelis and reigning champions Olympiacos with 27,950 tickets being sold.[2] The result was a 2−1 victory for the home team.

2004 Summer Olympics
Pankritio Stadium during the 2004 Summer Olympics Football tournament.

Pankritio Stadium hosted six games of the men's football tournament at the 2004 Summer Olympics, and four games of the women's Olympic Football tournament.

Men's tournament
Date Time Team No. 1 Res. Team No. 2 Round Attendance
11 August 200420:30 Tunisia1–1 AustraliaGroup C15,757[7]
12 August 200420:30 Costa Rica0–0 MoroccoGroup D3,212[8]
14 August 200420:30 Serbia and Montenegro1–5 AustraliaGroup C8,857[9]
15 August 200420:30 Morocco1–2 PortugalGroup D7,581[10]
18 August 200420:30 Costa Rica4–2 PortugalGroup D11,218[11]
21 August 200418:00 Iraq1–0 AustraliaQuarter-finals10,023[12]

Women's tournament
Date Time Team No. 1 Res. Team No. 2 Round Attendance
11 August 200418:00 Greece0–3 United StatesGroup C15,757[13]
14 August 200420:30 Greece0–1 AustraliaGroup C8,857[14]
20 August 200421:00 Mexico0–5 BrazilQuarter-finals3,012[15]
23 August 200418:00 United States2–1 (a.e.t.) GermanySemi finals5,165[16]

Transportation
  • Herakleion City Bus stop Pagritio Stadio

References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-09-21. Retrieved 2010-09-26.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. "Τα sold out των ελληνικών γηπέδων (Greek)". gazzetta.gr. 7 November 2008.
  3. "Παγκρήτιο Στάδιο" (in Greek). stadia.gr.
  4. 2004 Summer Olympic venues. Volume 2. p. 324.
  5. "Παγκρήτιο Στάδιο" (in Greek). Heraklion Sports Development A.E. O.T.A. Archived from the original on 2018-07-03. Retrieved 2017-11-30.
  6. "Deep Purple / Βασίλης Παπακωνσταντίνου και στην Κρήτη" (in Greek). rocking.gr. 11 April 2011.
  7. "Match report – Group C – Tunisia - Australia" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 11 August 2004.
  8. "Match report – Group D – Costa Rica - Morocco" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 12 August 2004.
  9. "Match report – Group C – Serbia and Montenegro - Australia" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 14 August 2004.
  10. "Match report – Group D – Morocco - Portugal" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 15 August 2004.
  11. "Match report – Group D – Costa Rica - Portugal" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 18 August 2004.
  12. "Match report – Quarter-finals – Iraq - Australia" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 21 August 2004.
  13. "Match report – Group C – Greece - USA" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 11 August 2004.
  14. "Match report – Group C – Greece - Australia" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 14 August 2004.
  15. "Match report – Quarter-finals – Mexico - Brazil" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 20 August 2004.
  16. "Match report – Semi finals – USA - Germany" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 23 August 2004.
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