| June 1st, 2002 RIZOUPOLI STADIUM will be the temporary home of Olympiakos CFP for the next 2 seasons. The choice of the stadium that the "red-and-whites" will use (until their own Karaiskaki Stadium is ready) was not as easy as it seemed to be some weeks ago. Up until then, everyone thought that Nea Smyrni Stadium would be chosen. However, its owners, amateur Panionios GS, asked for an extraordinary amount of money, so Olympiakos looked at other alternatives. One of those was Rizoupoli, which finally prevailed. Still, the state of this stadium today is almost tragic. This means that it must be immediately upgraded, if it is to host the Greek champions. The works are expected to commence in the next few days and they will include: - the installation of plastic seats on all stands (the stadium capacity will fall from 16,000 to about 13,500) - the construction of a roof over the north main stand - the installation of floodlights on four pillars - the upgrading of all the facilities under the stands (new press room, new bars etc) - the replacement of the pitch. The "new" Rizoupoli Stadium will be ready in time for the beginning of the next championship in late August. Finally, it should be noted that there is a small possibility for this stadium to also be the home of Olympiakos for their Champions League matches. Right now, the New GSP Stadium of Nicosia is the favourite, but nothing can be said for sure as a final decision is yet to be made. |