| June 27th, 2002 Iraklis FC will be using NEA EFKARPIA STADIUM as their home for the next two years. Kaftanzoglio Stadium – their historic home – will be closed until 2004, as it will be undergoing a complete renovation for the Olympic Games (it will host a group of the football tournament). Nea Efkarpia is a northwestern district of Thessaloniki and the stadium lies right next to the Ring Road. It was chosen by Iraklis, as all the other stadia of the city were turned down for various reasons. However, the state of this stadium is today very poor, as it had almost been abandoned in the last decade. It is therefore necessary that it will be completely upgraded, if it is to be used by Iraklis both for their domestic and european games next season. The works that are currently taking place (and will be completed until August) include the installation of floodlights, the renovation of all the facilities below the stands, the beautification of the surrounding area, while the stadium will become an all-seater with a capacity of about 8,500. It should be finally noted that if Nea Efkarpia Stadium fails to get the green light by UEFA in August, Iraklis have agreed to play their home games for the UEFA Cup at Harilaou Stadium. |