The first phase of the Ellinikon Sports Park, one of the flagship projects within the redevelopment of the former Athens airport, has been completed at an estimated cost of 80 million to 100 million euros, according to the developer, and is scheduled to open to the public in September, with a “soft opening” planned for July 20.
Covering 287,000 square meters, the complex is the first major sports infrastructure project delivered as part of the broader Ellinikon redevelopment.
Listed Lamda Development said the park is designed to combine sport, recreation and green space while serving both elite athletes and the wider public, including children, schools, sports academies and amateur clubs.
The developer has already invested more than 20 million euros in renovating existing public sports facilities, including Olympic venues for weightlifting, aquatic sports at the Olympic Athletic Center of Athens (OAKA) and the Olympic Village, under agreements with the Greek state aimed at strengthening grassroots and high-performance sport.
The first phase includes a World Athletics-certified outdoor track and field venue with seating for 1,070 spectators, two FIFA Quality-certified artificial-turf football pitches, two hybrid-grass football fields, basketball and tennis courts, landscaped areas for informal exercise and a 124-room accommodation complex for athletes.
By the end of the year, the park is expected to add two five-a-side football pitches and an Olympic-size outdoor swimming pool equipped with an adjustable air-barrier system that can divide the pool into two training areas, effectively doubling the number of available swimming lanes.
Lamda Development said the facility is intended to attract domestic and international sports clubs, federations and national teams while also functioning as a community sports destination. The athlete accommodation includes accessible rooms, a restaurant, gymnasium, physiotherapy facilities, sauna and meeting spaces, with the aim of positioning Athens as a destination for sports tourism and training camps.
A view of the first tower being constructed at the Ellinikon, in coastal southern Athens.
A digital booking platform, scheduled to launch in September, will allow visitors to reserve sports facilities, register for events and book parking online across the site’s 1,350 parking spaces.
The company estimates the park will attract between 200,000 and 300,000 visitors by the end of this year, rising to about one million in 2027 and eventually reaching five million annually.
The athletics facilities will be managed jointly with the Greek state, while football operations have been assigned to a specialist operator. Agreements have also been reached with the first food and beverage operators for the site’s central public square.
The sports park forms part of the wider Ellinikon redevelopment, billed as Europe’s largest urban regeneration project, which is gradually transforming the former airport complex in southeast Athens into a mixed-use district featuring residential neighborhoods, commercial developments, public parks, cultural venues and leisure facilities.
In recent weeks, the project has entered a new phase as additional infrastructure, retail and public-space projects have advanced alongside preparations for the opening of the Riviera Tower, new residential developments and the Metropolitan Park, reinforcing Lamda Development’s strategy of delivering the site in stages over the coming years.
