Nea Smyrni Stadium 3.64

Nea Smyrni Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Athens, Greece. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of Panionios G.S.S. which plays for the Greek Super League. The stadium is located in the southern suburb of Nea Smyrni, which is the heart of the team's fanbase. The all seated stadium holds 11,700 spectators and was built in 1939. Before full seating was installed on 1998 for the participation of Panionios FC in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup its capacity was close to 19.000. The stadium is eligible to host UEFA Europa League matches and its football pitch dimensions are about average at 105x72m.Early historyIn November 1937, Panionios G.S.S. Board of Directors led by President D. Karabatis and the Municipality of Nea Smyrni agreed to relocate the club in Nea Smyrni, the Athens suburb that was mainly inhabited by Greek World War I refugees coming from Smyrna, the club's historical home. Construction works started in 1938, and were completed one year later.In the summer of 1940 the first football matches take place, with the club donating the money to support the repair of Greek Warship "Elli" which was hit by Italian forces on World War II. On September later that year Panionios G.S.S. celebrated its 50th year together with the completion of building the new stadium. Since then it has been used constantly for over 70 years from Panionios G.S.S. associated clubs and sports divisions.