| Harilaou
Stadium "Kleanthis Vikelidis" |
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All
photographs featured on this page are presented in smaller size.
You may enlarge any of them and see it in full size by simply clicking on it. |
| Capacity: 18,540 (seated) |
| Location: |
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The stadium is located in Thessaloniki, 500 km north of Athens. Thessaloniki
has an international airport, but you may also get there by train.
It is located in the Harilaou district, an eastern quarter of Thessaloniki,
on Papanastasiou Street.
To get there by car, have a look at the map provided, as it can be somewhat difficult, if you are not familiar with the city. Being so, the best way to get to Harilaou Stadium is using bus #10 from the centre of Thessaloniki (Egnatia Street). It stops right outside the stadium, on Papanastasiou. |
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| Built in: 1951 (Latest redevelopment in 2004) |
| Record attendance: 27,500 (Aris FC vs AEK Athens FC - on 11/3/1979) |
| Home of: Aris FC (C Division) |
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More
data: Its name was for many years simply "Aris Stadium".
However, everyone referred to it with the name of the district in
which it is built: Harilaou. The stadium was officially renamed "Kleanthis
Vikelidis" in 2004, to honour this great player of Aris in the
1940s.
The evolution of the stadium since its inauguration was constant. The west main stand was completed in 1972 with the construction of a concrete roof, something revolutionary back then. The south stand was completed in 1975, having a rather strange shape due to the restricted space at that side of the stadium. The east and north stands were built in the early 1980s, giving to Harilaou the form that it kept until 2003. You may see relevant photos: 1 2 3 4. |
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Harilaou was selected as one of the training venues for the football
tournament of the 2004 Olympic Games. This meant that the stadium
had to be completely upgraded. It should be, however, noted that Harilaou
always was and still is one of the best examples of football-only
grounds in Greece. If you want to get inside Harilaou Stadium,
click on the next icon ->
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The
most important modification was the demolition of the old main west
stand of the stadium. It was replaced by a new double-tiered stand.
Its facilities include dressing rooms, a gym, a swimming pool, VIP
boxes, a VIP lounge, a restaurant
with pitch view, Press facilities etc.
Both tiers of the new west stand are covered by a roof. There are three entrance gates for the public. Additionally, there are two more seperate entrances for the Press and VIPs with lifts and escalators that provide direct access to their respective areas. Unfortunately, the construction company that was responsible for the works at Harilaou nearly went bankrupt in 2004. This meant that the project was not entirely completed before the beginning of the 2004-05 football season. Aris used the stadium, despite its half-finished state. Works resumed in the summer of 2005, aiming to fully complete the new stand and its roof (you can see that its rear part had not been installed at the time the photo below was shot). Harilaou Stadium "Kleanthis Vikelidis" is owned by AS Aris amateur club. |
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