The images of rainwater running from the roof of the closed swimming pool once again highlighted the empty letters in the communication crowns for the maintenance of the OAKA
Unfortunately for Greek sports and the Greek taxpayer, Documento’s investigation published last April on the rot of OAKA was confirmed to the letter. Last September it was officially announced by the government that they are closing the main stadium of the OAKA and the cycling track, which have since gradually opened, however the Olympic facilities in Marousi are literally abandoned and the situation remains the same and unchanged.
Ten months after Documento’s survey of OAKA we planned to visit again to see if any work had been done. In the end we didn’t have to do a new autopsy. In the middle of the week, a video was released on social media which “showed” waterfalls running from the roof of the closed swimming pool after a storm! Unbelievable and yet 100% true! The government did not ensure that the stadiums in the country’s largest sports complex are not under demolition, and the swimming pool also acquired… waterfalls.
Read also: Guardian for OAKA: The government is considering the demolition of the Calatrava roof
For the past few years and almost every winter the indoor athletics facilities at the first heavy rain filled with… ponds. This winter, the swimming pool was upgraded and got… waterfalls! The problem is serious and the roof of the swimming pool must be waterproofed as soon as possible. “Our primary concern was and remains the safety of athletes, athletes and fans,” the Deputy Sports Minister said when the lockout was announced at OAKA. What safety are we talking about, though, when even the roof of the swimming pool gets water, with dozens of children in the pool and parents on the platform?
“Dance” of millions without a response
What the Mitsotakis government has been doing for four and a half years is announcing a “dance” of millions around the maintenance, upgrading and renovation of the OAKA. In essence, nothing is being done and the “striptease” in the communication policy of the rulers came from the video with the waterfalls running from the roof of the closed swimming pool. It is a shameful sight for sports and for our country itself, which is supposed to belong to Europe. Europe may be on paper, but everyday life, even in sports, is third-world. It hits rock bottom and can’t go any lower. Or does it go? What will happen, for example, in the swimming pool if an electric shock is caused by the waters of the waterfall?
The jewel of Greek sports, OAKA, was and is at the mercy of the weather, despite the announcements of expensive projects. And this is not an arbitrary conclusion. In addition to the strainer roof of the swimming pool, on December 22 the partial reopening of the cycling track was announced. So far so good. For its reopening, there was, among others, the following set of measures:
«01 Exclusion of two platforms and use only for trainings: By the exclusion of the two platforms, where the Press functions are also hosted, it is possible to unload specific hangers of the ceiling with finds and to reduce tensions on the neighboring hangers. Therefore, the cycling track – temporarily – will be able to be used for training and not to host competitions.
02 Non-use of the site in case of snowfall or strong wind pressures: The estimates so far from the on-site measurements of the TEE of the real hanger forces were completed, but with low operating loads (without strong weather effects, e.g. high wind pressure), it will be set the restriction of non-operation of the site in case of strong wind pressures (at least six Beaufort) or in case of snowfall, for reasons of avoiding risks”.
Another… anecdote too. The cycle track will be closed, but not when there is a typhoon – we don’t have such extreme weather in our country. The cycle track has been announced that it will not operate when it is snowing and when it is blowing six beauforts! In other words, when the wind pressure is high, the cycle track will be closed, perhaps to prevent any sheet metal from coming off. This is a decision unique in world sports. A sports stadium opens and closes its doors depending on the Beaufort winds blowing in the wider area. Is this the new Greece that Prime Minister Mr. Mitsotakis is planning and envisioning? It is obvious that the answer can only be given by the National Meteorological Service (NMS).
No more… polycarbonate sheet
Two months after the semi-opening of the cycle track, the following was announced in an almost triumphant tone by the GGA: “The Central Stadium of the Olympic Facilities (OAKA) is absolutely safe for use, according to the 3rd Expert Report delivered by the president of the Technical Chamber of Greece (TEE) ), Giorgos Stasinos, to the Deputy Minister of Sports, Yiannis Vroutsis. The conclusion reached, according to what is described in detail in the 3rd Expert Report, is that after the removal of the polycarbonate sheets of the Calatrava roof, no risk will exist.”
The polycarbonate sheets will be removed, but no one has mentioned the metal cages where the large speakers are placed. Documento in October ’23 had revealed that “in addition to the two Calatrava canopies, the electronic installations in the central stadium canopy are also being dismantled, with the huge and dozens of speakers located there over the heads of thousands of spectators”. An answer to this has not been given by anyone in charge.
In his statements, Mr. among other things, the minister reminded that “OAKA has already joined the Works of the Recovery and Resilience Fund and from which it draws 57 million for the repair, maintenance and improvement of its existing structures. In addition, and in line with the increase in annual funding for all of the country’s National Sports Centers, which even reached +150%, 7.5 million euros were approved to be directed to the construction of another versatile indoor gym within the wider area of OAKA, in order to serve the permanent needs of the Federations, while the indoor athletics training facility has already changed shape and renovation projects are also being carried out in the open auxiliary fields (K1-K2)”.
According to G. Vroutsis and the former Deputy Minister of Sports Lefteris Avgenakis, there is money for the “facelift” of the stadiums, however this alone is not safe for the athletes or the people who are in their stands. For four years, Avgenakis…advertised the money available for the Olympic facilities. What was the result? The main stadium of OAKA and the cycling track were closed, the roof of the indoor swimming pool is leaking water and spectacular waterfalls are being created, the tennis courts were given to private individuals and the indoor basketball court at KAE Panathinaikos. At least, the last two facilities with private funds will not rot like the rest, while it is certain that under certain conditions the Mitsotakis government would also demolish the central stadium of OAKA.
In 2016, there was a regional fund of 12 million euros for projects at OAKA, while a static inspection of stands was carried out by the National Technical University of Athens.
For four whole years, L. Avgenakis set up communication parties where, among other things, he said the following unsurpassed: “What for many years was the object of criticism towards the State, which left the Olympic properties to age desolate and looted, is changing! Our Olympic properties are being reborn.” This is what the former Deputy Minister of Sports had said on December 13, 2022, in the presence of Mr. Mitsotakis, who a month later wrote on social media: “I am a person of results and not of announcements that are made to pass the time and not materialize.” If Greek sports had remained at the level of political power in the hands of Eugenakis, it would have collapsed just like OAKA.
The concerts and the final of the Cup
The central stadium of OAKA may be opening for the sake of the spectacle, as the risk that our country would become internationally resiliated if the two sold out Coldplay concerts (June 8-9) were canceled was visible, but the question is when they will host football games again games and other sporting events. The GGA announced that “the work of removing the polycarbonate sheets is expected, barring unforeseen weather, to be completed within the spring, so that at the end of April the canopy will be fully functional. At the same time, the experts of the TEE report that an instrumental monitoring system of the roofer will be installed and a digital twin will be created, i.e. the most modern technologically available, so that its behavior can be monitored in real time”.
This announcement once again put OAKA on the discussion table as the venue for the final. EPO is positive, as is Panathinaikos with Ari. The “yellow and black” cannot yet be publicly announced, because the rematch of the semi-final with Panaitolikos has not been held.
In the federation, they have discussed with the two teams to hold the final of the Cup at OAKA in the presence of approximately 55,000 people. Finalists will receive 25 each.
Award to Documento for the revelations
The 26th Panhellenic Sports Press Association Awards turned into a triumph for Documento’s sports section. Antonis Founis and Savvas Livanios received the “Christos Svolopoulos” award for their report published last April in our newspaper on the subject of abandonment and decay in the OAKA facilities. At the annual event, the head of the sports department, Nikos Papadogiannis, was also awarded for his exclusive report on the Greekization of basketball player Thomas Walkap, published on the Gazzetta website. The prize bears the name of colleague Kostas Georgiadis, who passed away last March.
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