Toumba Stadium ( el, Στάδιο Τούμπας) is a football stadium in
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...
,
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
. It is property of
AC PAOK. The official name of the stadium is simply PAOK Stadium ( el, Στάδιο ΠΑΟΚ), but through the years it has become synonymous with the borough it is built at, the borough of
Toumba
In archaeology the term Toumba ( el, Τούμπα) or Magoula ( el, Μαγούλα) in Thessaly is a Greek word which describes mounds created by Bronze Age, Bronze and early Iron Age settlements in northern Greece. At first they were considere ...
.
History
The construction started in 1958 and completed in 1959. Patrons on the project were the
Ministry of Culture and Sport (Greece)
The Ministry of Culture and Sports ( el, Υπουργείο Πολιτισμού και Αθλητισμού) is the government department of Greece entrusted with preserving the country's cultural heritage, promoting the arts, and overseeing sp ...
which offered the amount of 1,100,000 drachmas, while the
Hellenic National Defence General Staff
The Hellenic National Defence General Staff ( el, Γενικό Επιτελείο Εθνικής Άμυνας, abbr. ΓΕΕΘΑ) is the senior staff of the Hellenic Armed Forces. It was established in 1950, when the separate armed services minist ...
owned the space and contributed decisively to expropriate it for the stadium.
The then
defense minister
A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...
Georgios Themelis vouched for the expropriation of the area of Toumba Stadium during the
Konstantinos Karamanlis
Konstantinos G. Karamanlis ( el, Κωνσταντίνος Γ. Καραμανλής, ; 8 March 1907 – 23 April 1998), commonly Anglicisation, anglicised to Constantine Karamanlis or just Caramanlis, was a four-time prime minister and List of he ...
government in 1958. The architect of the project was Minas Trempelas and the engineer was Antonis Trigliano. The inauguration event was scheduled for Sunday 6 September 1959 with a friendly encounter against
AEK FC.
The stadium is located in the district of
Toumba
In archaeology the term Toumba ( el, Τούμπα) or Magoula ( el, Μαγούλα) in Thessaly is a Greek word which describes mounds created by Bronze Age, Bronze and early Iron Age settlements in northern Greece. At first they were considere ...
in eastern
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...
. Its original capacity was 45,000 until the installation of seating on all stands in 1998, which reduced the capacity to 32,000 (seated). The introduction of security zones in 2000 further reduced the capacity to the current capacity of 29,000 seats. A record attendance of 45,252 has been recorded in a 1st division football match between PAOK and AEK on 19 December 1976. The stadium's official name is simply "
PAOK Stadium", however it is commonly referred to as "
Toumba
In archaeology the term Toumba ( el, Τούμπα) or Magoula ( el, Μαγούλα) in Thessaly is a Greek word which describes mounds created by Bronze Age, Bronze and early Iron Age settlements in northern Greece. At first they were considere ...
" after the district where is located.
Toumba Stadium is infamous for its hostile atmosphere, a factor that led to the attribution of the Stadium as 'The Black Hell'. On high-profile encounters, when the players walk out of the tunnel, the song
Hells Bells by
AC/DC
AC/DC (stylised as ACϟDC) are an Australian Rock music, rock band formed in Sydney in 1973 by Scottish-born brothers Malcolm Young, Malcolm and Angus Young. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock, and Heavy metal ...
is heard from the stadium's speakers.
2004 upgrade
The stadium has hosted several games of the
Greece national football team
The Greece national football team ( el, Εθνική Ελλάδας, ) represents Greece in men's international football matches and is controlled by the Hellenic Football Federation, the governing body for football in Greece. Greece play most ...
. The stadium was selected as one of the training venues for the football tournaments of the
2004 Olympic Games
The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...
, and due to this it was heavily upgraded. The relevant works commenced in 2003 and the stadium was again ready to be used in the summer of 2004 while boasting a brand new look. The most important modification was the construction of a new four-storey building behind the main west stand (Gates 1, 2 and 3). The new building of the stadium houses a number of VIP boxes and VIP lounges, service areas for TV and the press and new club offices. A new roof was also installed over the west stand, while other works included new seats, upgrades for the dressing rooms, a new pitch and re-enforcement of the concrete pillars below the north curved stand (Gate 4 and Gate 4A).
Recent upgrades
After the advent of the new major shareholder
Ivan Savvidis
Ivan Ignatyevich Savvidi (russian: Иван Игнатьевич Саввиди, , el, Ιβάν Σαββίδης, translit=Ivan Savvidis, , ka, ივან ეგნატეს ძე სავიდი, ''Ivan Egnates dze Savidi'', , also ...
in 2012, a gradual renovation began. Big changes began in 2012–13, but most of the changes were made in 2014–15 for the European obligations of PAOK in the
UEFA Europa League
The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...
, starting from the central part of the stadium. A presidential suite was created and a gradual renovation for the media theories for convenience and functionality in the building of the third floor. In early September 2015, the turf was changed.
New Stadium
PAOK administration have already presented to the Greek public authorities an architecture study of a new Stadium at Toumba. The Greek Council of State (CoS), the country’s supreme court, in April 2022 approved a proposal to setup the complete redevelopment of Toumba Stadium, with the CoS deeming legal a draft Presidential Decree concerning the approval of a Special Urban Plan for the district of Toumba, where the venue is located. On 21 June 2022, PAOK has formalized the beginning of a collaboration with a team consisting of domestic engineering and consulting firm SALFO and global architectural design company
Populous to deliver the project. It is estimated that PAOK will be granted a building permit in 2023 and the new stadium will be completed by 2026 and will have a capacity of 35,000 spectators.
PAOK would probably move to
Kaftanzoglio Stadium
Kaftanzoglio Stadium ( el, Καυτανζόγλειο στάδιο) is a sports stadium in Thessaloniki, Greece. The stadium was built with money donated by the Kaftanzoglou Foundation, in honour of Lysandros Kaftanzoglou, hence its name. At th ...
until the new Stadium is built.
Gallery
File:Thessalonioki, Stadium of PAOK - panoramio.jpg, Inside view
File:Paok stadium.jpg, Inside view
File:Tumba stadium - panoramio.jpg, External view
File:Toumba-Stadium7.jpg, Big shirt in the stadium
File:Toumpa Stadium.jpg, Team training
File:1989-90 PAOK AEK.JPG, PAOK vs AEK 1–1 (1989)
File:View of Toumba from Gate-4.JPG, View from Gate 4
See also
*
P.A.O.K.
PAOK ( el, ΠΑΟΚ, Πανθεσσαλονίκειος Αθλητικός Όμιλος Κωνσταντινοπολιτών, ''Panthessalonikeios Athlitikós Ómilos Constantinopoliton'', ''Pan-Thessalonian Athletic Club of Constantinopolitans' ...
*
PAOK FC
P.A.O.K. FC ( el, ΠΑΕ ΠΑΟΚ, Πανθεσσαλονίκειος Αθλητικός Όμιλος Κωνσταντινουπολιτών, '' Panthessaloníkios Athlitikós Ómilos Konstadinoupolitón'', "Pan-Thessalonian Athletic Club of ...
References
External links
Toumba Stadium at PAOK FC official website
{{Portal bar, Europe, Greece, Association football, Architecture
PAOK
Football venues in Greece
Sports venues in Thessaloniki
Tourist attractions in Thessaloniki