AEL FC Arena is a football stadium in
Larissa,
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 a current seating capacity of 16,118. Since its completion in 2010 and for 8 seasons, it has been the home ground of
AΕL. Owner of the ground is Gipedo Larissa A.E.
The stadium was developed in a total of 144,000 square meters in the Mezourlo Hill, district of Neapolis,
Larissa. Construction of the stadium started in September 2009 and was completed in November 2010. According to
UEFA stadium categories
UEFA stadium categories are categories for football stadiums laid out in UEFA's Stadium Infrastructure Regulations. Using these regulations, stadiums are rated as category one, two, three, or four (renamed from elite) in ascending ranking order. T ...
, AEL FC Arena is rated as category three of four, (renamed from elite) in ascending ranking order.
The
seating capacity
Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...
is 16,118 all covered, with the possibility to expand to 18,000. It also includes 38
VIP boxes, for 12 spectators each. The stadium complex, called Crimson Park, includes parking lots for 1,104 vehicles, commercial spaces, a
movie theater, and a 1,500-seat
open-air theater, 12
tennis court
A tennis court is the venue where the sport of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the centre. The same surface can be used to play both Types of tennis match, doubles and singles matches. A variet ...
s and lies near the
Neapolis Indoor Hall. The new sports venue is ideally located - regarding the urban location - with a fair accession in the transport system and has good accessibility from two main motorways and proximity to the city's center.
The stadium was inaugurated on 23 November, followed by a concert by
Filippos Pliatsikas
Filippos Pliatsikas (Greek: Φίλιππος Πλιάτσικας) is a musician, composer and lyricist. He was the main composer, lyricist, and lead singer of the Entekhno rock group Pyx Lax (Πυξ Λαξ) and now a solo artist.
Career
F ...
(himself a fan of the team) and Dionysis Tsaknis.
History
The first football match at AEL FC Arena took place on December 5, 2010 in the framework of its 13th Super League game 2010–11, in the match between AEL FC and
PAOK FC
P.A.O.K. FC ( el, ΠΑΕ ΠΑΟΚ, Πανθεσσαλονίκειος Αθλητικός Όμιλος Κωνσταντινουπολιτών, '' Panthessaloníkios Athlitikós Ómilos Konstadinoupolitón'', "Pan-Thessalonian Sports club, Athlet ...
, which ended with a score of 1–2. The first goal scored on the field came at 11' by PAOK's Chilean footballer,
Pablo Contreras.
Gallery
File:AEL Arena.jpg, AEL FC Arena
File:AELFCARENA.jpeg, Aerial view
File:AEL FC Arena Inside View.jpg, Inside view
File:AEL FC Arena Main Building.jpg, External view
File:AEL FC ARENA.jpg, The stadium under heavy fog
References
External links
AEL FC Arena at AEL's official websiteAEL FC Arena project page
Football venues in Greece
Athlitiki Enosi Larissa F.C.
Buildings and structures in Larissa
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