Thursday, 2 July 2026, marked a historic day for Olympiacos, as Club President Evangelos Marinakis officially unveiled the new “Georgios Karaiskakis” Stadium.
The Legend’s new home will be expanded and comprehensively modernised, becoming the club’s new shining asset. This unique project will welcome more than 53,000 supporters at every match, providing the stage for new unforgettable moments as Olympiacos continues to pursue glory in Greece and across Europe.
The Club’s leader, Evangelos Marinakis, presented the new Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium during an official event held at the iconic Municipal Theatre of Piraeus. The entire Olympiacos first-team squad was in attendance, alongside athletes representing the Club’s amateur sports departments, members of the women’s football team, and numerous distinguished guests.
Mr Marinakis stated:
“Good afternoon, everyone.
Today is a HISTORIC day for our OLYMPIACOS!
It is also a HISTORIC day for the city that gave birth to the LEGEND of Greek sport our beloved PIRAEUS and for GREECE itself.
Today, we will present the greatest project ever unveiled in the history of Greek football: a unique undertaking for which no state funding has been requested, none has been granted, none will be granted, and not a single Greek taxpayer will bear any financial burden.
Unfortunately, however, the government has delayed us, and I cannot understand why, considering that, as I keep repeating, we are not asking the State for even a single euro.
This is in stark contrast to what happened with other stadiums, which were not delayed and were transferred as assets to private companies through fast-track procedures stadiums that were funded either in part or entirely by the Greek taxpayer, by the Greek people.
I would therefore like to inform you that, on our side, millions of euros have already been spent on designs and preparatory works, and we are fully ready to begin construction. The major construction company that has undertaken the project is also fully prepared and is already at work.
Since September 2025, we have been requesting a regulatory amendment concerning the permitted height of the stadium. Had we been granted that amendment, we would already have obtained our building permit.
We are also requesting an extension of our agreement with the Hellenic Olympic Committee, in return for which we will voluntarily provide substantial financial compensation.
Had we received the amendment, construction would have begun this May, and we would have been able to move into the stadium in August 2028. One entire year has already been lost for no reason.
The project, which will cost more than €250 million, will be financed by Olympiacos and by me personally. It will become OUR THEATRE OF DREAMS, and it will be open 365 days a year.
However, I would like to start from a little earlier. I do not speak often because I prefer to let my actions speak for themselves.
When I took the helm of Olympiacos in 2010, I declared that I had three objectives.
My first objective was for Olympiacos to become self-sufficient, financially invincible, and dependent on no one. Today, Olympiacos is financially stronger than ever and looks to the future with confidence and certainty.
The Club has its own NEW state-of-the-art new training centre in Renti, the finest in Greece and one of the best in Europe.
It continues to improve every year, just as the Club’s state-of-the-art privately owned headquarters continue to develop. The Club now possesses every resource necessary to sustain the largest budget in Greek football and a team capable of competing at UEFA Champions League level.
All of this has been achieved through substantial personal investment on my part, just as substantial were the investments made in Karaiskakis Stadium, which can no longer accommodate the team we dream of seeing achieve even greater success in Greece and throughout Europe.
That is why our new home will have a capacity of more than 53,000 seats. It will be the largest and most modern football stadium in the country a technological marvel of which Olympiacos, Piraeus, and all of Greece will be proud.
My second objective, when I took over in 2010, was for Olympiacos to become a member of European football’s elite and to excel in Europe.
Over the past sixteen years, we have reached the highest UEFA rankings in the Club’s history and celebrated magnificent victories against giants of world football.
Today, Olympiacos is recognised throughout Europe as one of the continent’s elite clubs.
The pinnacle came with the historic triumph of 2024, when we won the UEFA Conference League and our Youth Team captured the UEFA Youth League.
It was the first time in European football that a club won both a major European title and the UEFA Youth League in the very same season. It was nothing sort of a miracle!
A dream cherished for an entire century by every Olympiacos supporter and every Greek became reality. We experienced it and celebrated it on Greek soil, and I hope it marks the beginning of even greater glory for every Greek club.
The third objective I set was to build an Olympiacos that would dominate in titles and make history across every sport.
ONE UNITED, UNIFIED, POWERFUL OLYMPIACOS F.C.
ONE UNITED, UNIFIED, POWERFUL OLYMPIACOS S.F.P.
Through my personal financial support for every sport represented by our Legend since 2010, Olympiacos has changed the history of sport forever and become one of Europe’s two greatest multi-sport clubs, alongside Barcelona.
From 2010 until today, in every sport in which we have competed, Olympiacos has won 143 titles, 11 of them European titles in the major team sports, as well as more than 120 titles in individual sports, international competitions, and the Olympic Games.
In football, we have won 19 trophies:
11 League Championships,
5 Greek Cups,
1 Greek Super Cup,
and, of course, OUR TWO EUROPEAN TITLES!
TOGETHER… 300 TITLES FOR THE CLUB IN 16 YEARS!
A WORLD RECORD. A CRAZY DREAM THAT BECAME REALITY.
NOT BAD AT ALL…
We are talking about a sporting revolution unlike anything the world of sport has ever witnessed.
Every Olympiacos supporter understands it.
WE ARE PROUD TO BE OLYMPIACOS.
It is an unparalleled story a story that only the Club born to win from its very first breath could ever write.
Of course, Olympiacos’ dreams never end. They only become even greater.
We embroidered the fourth star onto our red-and-white shirt when we reached the incredible milestone of 40 league championships.
We added our European Star.
We have already reached 48 league championships.
Now we want to reach 50 league championships, soon, embroider the fifth star, and join the exclusive club of just five teams worldwide that have won more than 50 national league titles.
And, of course, we continue to fight for the next European trophies.
We believed in it long before 2024 since 2010.
At first, only one person believed. Then another. Then more. Eventually, everyone believed. We achieved it.
Now we all know that we can. We were born winners, and we constantly strive to climb even higher.
As I have said before, in the end, we are the winners.
As for me, I am here with more enthusiasm and passion than ever before.
Every day. Every moment. With faith in and love for our Olympiacos.
Throughout all these years, we have lived through and confronted conspiracies, asymmetric warfare, and a dirty campaign against both me and the Club.
I have always said “let me be their target not Olympiacos”.
Let me repeat once again: I AM HERE, and I continue to hear the eternal voice of Stavros Daifas saying about those who stand against us:
You are all dwarfs before Olympiacos!
We at Olympiacos are fortunate enough to witness, for the second time in our lives, Karaiskakis Stadium being transformed, beautified, and modernised.
The first time was in 2004 with Sokratis Kokkalis.
I would like to thank him once again for that, on behalf of myself and every Olympiacos supporter.
We are about to experience it again. We will celebrate once more. We will watch our stadium once again transform and grow, while our team continues to achieve greatness and lift trophies.
Always here.
Always on this sacred ground, hallowed by the blood and sacrifice of the GREAT GREEK, Georgios Karaiskakis.
On this very ground where the dreams and memories of millions of Olympiacos supporters took root, blossomed, and became moments of joy in our LEGENDARY HISTORY.
The time has now come to give shape to our dreams.
To unveil the very first images of the NEW KARAISKAKIS STADIUM.
MY LEGEND, YOUR NEW HOME
THE PALACE OF OUR DREAMS”.
Yiannis Moralis, Vice President of Olympiacos FC and Mayor of Piraeus, welcomed the audience to the city’s Municipal Theatre before delivering the following remarks:
“Today is a great day for Olympiacos and a great day for our city of Piraeus. Just a few days ago, we had the pleasure of seeing the City Council unanimously approve Olympiacos’ request for the necessary urban planning adjustments that will allow the construction of the new Karaiskakis Stadium. Today, I would say, is an even greater and more exciting day, because we are about to see the vision that everyone has been waiting for—not only those gathered in this hall, but above all the millions of Olympiacos supporters in Piraeus, across Greece and around the world. I am certain we are about to witness something truly spectacular, something that will move everyone who loves football, and especially the people and supporters of Olympiacos.
This story began back in 2003-04, during the presidency of Sokratis Kokkalis, when the Karaiskakis Stadium became the only football stadium in Greece to be built entirely with private funding. Now, approximately 22 years later, the time has come for a complete redevelopment of that stadium through an investment of unprecedented scale for Greek standards—around €250 million. This is a proposal that asks absolutely nothing from the Greek State, not even a single euro. All it requires is the necessary approvals and the legislative framework that will allow this investment to move forward without delay. I firmly believe—and I said the same at the City Council meeting—that this will happen quickly. I see neither any reason nor any excuse for delaying such a significant investment, the largest ever to take place within the geographical boundaries of our city. When someone is prepared to invest €250 million without requesting anything from the State and has the unanimous backing of the city through its City Council, I believe there is no reason to wait any longer. I, too, call on the Government to proceed with the necessary legislative regulation as soon as possible, so that another dream—and, as Kostas said, one that we will all experience while wide awake—can become a reality.
I have had the privilege of being among the few who have already seen a preview of what will be unveiled today, and I can honestly say it is truly remarkable. As Mayor, but also as Vice President of Olympiacos, I have double the joy and double the honour. I sincerely believe this investment can—and will—radically transform the entrance to the city of Piraeus for the better. With such a modern, state-of-the-art stadium, capable not only of hosting football matches but also the Greek national team and many other events, the city’s gateway will be completely upgraded. At the same time, we are discussing with Olympiacos a number of additional, smaller-scale interventions which, together with this investment, will provide a major boost to our city. As Mayor, I have always supported private investment in Piraeus. I firmly believe that cities evolve through cooperation between the public and private sectors, and this is all the more true when the investment comes from Olympiacos. I am delighted that, despite some differing opinions, the City Council unanimously approved the increase in the permitted building height—which, after all, is the only change being requested—and, as I said, I hope and expect the project to move ahead immediately.
I will not take up much more of your time. Most of us gathered here have had a long-standing relationship with Olympiacos—as executives, athletes, administrators or owners—and I am delighted that we are all here together today. The history of Piraeus over the past 100 years has been inseparably linked with the history of Olympiacos. Of course, the Municipality and Olympiacos are distinct entities, but that does not change the reality: Olympiacos is the city’s great club, without in any way diminishing the importance of the other clubs of Piraeus. Olympiacos is the city’s foremost ambassador abroad through the achievements of its football team, its non-professional sports departments and its basketball teams. For that reason, every Mayor—and certainly I myself—will always stand alongside every healthy initiative undertaken by Olympiacos.
“Finally, I would like to thank our President, Mr. Marinakis, for the support he has consistently provided to the Municipality of Piraeus over the years, both during his two terms as the leading municipal councilor and, above all, for his willingness to invest the extraordinary sum of €250 million in order to give Olympiacos supporters—and the citizens of Piraeus as a whole—a truly state-of-the-art stadium”.
