Greece

The Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium is often referred to simply as The Karaiskakis Stadium. It is named after a hero of the Greek War of Independence, Field Marshal Georgios Karaiskakis. A sports venue was originally built on the spot where the current ground stands in time for the 1896 Summer Olympics. Back then it was a velodrome and wasn’t used for football until Olympiacos moved into it after the club was first formed in 1925. It underwent significant renovation in the middle of the 1960s but was rebuilt entirely in 2004 ahead of that year’s Summer Olympics. The history of the stadium is a little muddled. Technically it opened in 2004 as that was when it was rebuilt, however a stadium of the same name has hosted football matches for decades before then. When the first match was played there and what the record attendance is will therefore depend entirely on the strictness of your definitions. Since it re-opened it has been the permanent home of a Greece national side that had previously moved from one location to another with wild abandon. As this is a guide for a stadium that hosts two teams we’ll tell you relevant information about both and will always put Olympiacos first, should you wish to skip to the bit you’re interested in.