The Olympic Stadium, the centre of the Olympic Games 2004, is situated at Maroussi and it is part of the Athens Olympic Sports Complex (OAKA). The Olympic Stadium will host 72,000 spectators, who will attend the exciting Athletics  events, the Football gold medal match and the Opening and Closing Ceremonies.

Following an ATHENS 2004 and Ministry of Culture initiative, the Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava has designed the upgrade of OAKA using innovative and creative ways, including the new roof structure for Olympic Stadium.

Work at the AOSC fell notoriously behind schedule during the last 3 years, to a point where it was feared that they would not be finished on time. The problems were solved, and the work proceed according to the (very tight) time schedule.

The most famous part of the construction, the "jewel in the crown" as it has come to be known, is the roof of the Olympic Stadium. The roof will be the trademark of the Athens Games, either by its presence or absence! The parts of the roof arrived from Italy during the summer of 2003.

The two giant arcs have a total span of 304m and a maximum height of 80m. They provide the support for the cables that hold the polycarbonate panels comprising the roof. Its total weight will be 16,000 tons and it will cover an area of 10,000 sq.m. This means that almost 95% of the seats will be covered (only 35% were before). The special coating of the panels will reflect 60% of the sunlight, something extremely important when considering the weather conditions in Athens during the summer.

The Ministry of Culture is responsible for this project.

Quick Facts & Dates

Sport:  Athletics, Football Competition Schedule:  20-29 August (Athletics),  28 August (Football) Athletes participating:  2,000 Total spectator capacity:  70,030  Net spectator capacity:  56,700 (Athletics), 58,800 (Football) Total land surface:  127,625 sq m Distance from Olympic Village:  14.5km Completion Date:  June 2004 Official Opening:  30 July 2004 Press seats:  600 written press, 120 photographers   In 2004 the Olympic Games returned to Greece, the home of both the ancient Olympics and the first modern Olympics. For the first time ever a record 201 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) participated in the Olympic Games. The overall tally for events on the programme was 301 (one more than in Sydney 2000). Popularity in the Games reached soared to new highs as 3.9 billion people had access to the television coverage compared to 3.6 billion for Sydney 2000. Women's wrestling was included in the program for the first time. Swimmer Michael Phelps won 6 gold medals and set a single-Games record with 8 total medals. Leontien Ziljaard-van Moorsel became the first female cyclist to earn 4 career gold medals and 6 total medals, while canoeist Birgit Fischer became the first athlete in any sport to win two medals in each of 5 Olympics. Runner Hicham El Guerrouj won both the 1,500m and the 5,000m, while on the women's side Kelly Holmes triumphed in both the 800m and the 1,500m. In team play, Argentina won the men's football tournament without giving up a goal, and the U.S. softball team won by outscoring their opponents 51-1. 2000 Sydney Olympic Stadium 2000 2004 Athens Olympic Stadium 2004 2008 China Olympic Stadium 2008 BALLPARKS.com © 1996-2008 by Munsey & Suppes.