He turned forty this year. Athens Olympic Sports Center “Spiros Louis”. Forty years of contribution to Greek sport and culture. The 40th anniversary of the “pearl of Calogres” was celebrated with a brilliant anniversary event, where yesterday connected with today and became a “bridge” to reach the future. A future that looks promising, thanks to the activities carried out over the past three years and the announced major modernization projects, some of which are already underway.

Studies for the construction of the OAKA began in 1978, and on January 8, 1980, the first stone was laid by then Prime Minister Konstantinos Karamanlis. The gates of the Olympic Stadium opened on September 6 with a major event: the European Open Championships in Athletics. Composer Yiannis Markopoulos prepared a ritual dedicated to the world. It was the European Championship of Anna Verulis, Sofia Sacoraffa, Marita Koch, Ulrike Mayfat. It was the European Championship, which was attended by 750 male and female athletes. It was the European Championship of OAKA and Greece. Eighty thousand people watched as Anna Verulis sent the javelin to 70.02m. Thus, in yesterday’s brilliant event, the former javelin champion was awarded the first.

During the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Olympic Complex, athletes and sportswomen who attributed their highest successes to the stadium were awarded. In addition to Anna Verulis, Nikos Mahlas, Giorgos Afroudakis, Niki Xanthu, Kostas Gatsioudis, Nikos Kaclamanakis and Giorgos Kapelakis also received awards. Also honored were former Deputy Ministers of Sports Fani Palli Petralia, Giorgos Lianis, Andreas Furas and Yiannis Andrianos, who responded to the invitation of Deputy Minister of Sports Lefteris Avgenakis and traveled to OAKA to celebrate the birthday of the stadium together, which was and is the “donor blood” for our sport.

“We care not only about today, but also about tomorrow OAKA We care about tomorrow, we make sure that OAKA not only does not drown in the future, but will continue to flourish, grow, develop and provide quality services to the sports family and citizens. In this context, we turn on our vision of OAKA Having laid a solid foundation in 3.5 years of hard work, we boldly imagine tomorrow for modern OAKA and we develop an innovative plan for it to become an ultra-local pole of national and international scale,” the deputy emphasized in his speech. Sports Minister Lefteris Avgenakis.

“House of Sports and Culture”

After the Olympic Games in Athens, the Olympic complex gradually began to fall into disrepair. Many facilities were not maintained and athletes often complained about poor training conditions. However, over the last three years of OAKA, he seemed to come out of hibernation. “From the very beginning, we redefined the role of the OAKA so that the Organization can respond to the socio-political and technological changes of modern society. The role has been redefined, but the basic principle remains the same. And it was nothing but the undivided help and support of our athletes, which is the main concern of the minister. We want to be there for our athletes when they need us and throughout their training, not just at the photo awards. We want the Olympic Complex to be a home of sports and culture,” said O.A.K.A. Coordinating Director General Konstantinos Galioris.

The goals of the Deputy Ministry of Sports and the administration of the Organization are, among other things, to increase the number of visitors to 40,000 people per day through new functions, modernize energy, reduce operating costs by more than 30%, create 1,400 permanent jobs, become an Olympic park for sports, culture and tourism for the sports family, but in general for the whole society and, of course, the sustainability of the facilities.

Among the activities related to the facilities are the replacement of elastic carpets in the Central Stadium and in the training halls (in cooperation with the Attica region), the use of the Olympic Tennis Center, the establishment of the Aquatics Center with 11 swimming pools (in cooperation with Lamda), the construction of a new building , which will become a “home” for fencing, handball, gymnastics and cheerleading, the construction of three Olympic-standard climbing walls, a new multi-purpose hall in Kasimachi. » a hall for cultural events and sports (handball, volleyball, etc.) and, in cooperation with the Ministry of Digital Management, digital modernization of the complex. Maintenance and modernization projects will also be implemented, which have been included in the OAKA Recovery and Sustainability Fund 2.0, whose total budget reaches 54,000,000 euros.

During the celebrations for the 40th anniversary of the Olympic Complex, the President of the Hellenic Olympic Committee, Spyros Kapralos, was also honored, who said that, in cooperation with the Deputy Ministry of Sports and OAKA, EOE will build a center for physical therapy and rehabilitation after injuries. for athletes of pre-national teams.

During the event, the new logo of the Organization was also presented. It consists of line drawings that refer to the five circles of the Olympic Games flag, the circles that represent and unite all nations within the Olympic idea. The circles pulsate like the pulse of life and form a heart, because OAKA beats the heart of Greek sport and culture.