AEL FC Arena is a football stadium in

Larissa Larissa (; , , ) is the capital and largest city of the Thessaly region in Greece. It is the fifth-most populous city in Greece with a population of 148,562 in the city proper, according to the 2021 census. It is also the capital of the Larissa ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

, with a current seating capacity of 16,118. Since its completion in 2010 and for 8 seasons, it is the home ground of AΕL. Owner of the ground is Gipedo Larissa A.E. The stadium was developed in a total of 144,000 square meters in the Mezourlo Hill, district of Neapolis,

. Construction of the stadium started in September 2009 and was completed in November 2010. According to

UEFA stadium categories UEFA stadium categories are categories for football stadiums laid out in UEFA's Stadium Infrastructure Regulations. Using these regulations, stadiums are rated as category one, two, three, or four (renamed from elite) in ascending ranking order ...

, AEL FC Arena is rated as category three of four, (renamed from elite) in ascending ranking order. The

seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...

is 16,118 all covered, with the possibility to expand to 18,000. It also includes 38 VIP boxes, for 12 spectators each. The stadium complex, called Crimson Park, includes parking lots for 1,104 vehicles, commercial spaces, a

movie theater A movie theater (American English) or cinema (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), also known as a movie house, cinema hall, picture house, picture theater, the movies, the pictures, or simply theater, is a business ...

, and a 1,500-seat

open-air theater An amphitheatre ( U.S. English: amphitheater) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ('), meaning "place for vie ...

, 12

tennis court A tennis court is the venue where the sport of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the centre. The same surface can be used to play both Types of tennis match, doubles and singles matches. A variet ...

s and lies near the Neapolis Indoor Hall. The new sports venue is ideally located - regarding the urban location - with a fair accession in the transport system and has good accessibility from two main motorways and proximity to the city's center. The stadium was inaugurated on 23 November, followed by a concert by

Filippos Pliatsikas Filippos Pliatsikas (Greek: Φίλιππος Πλιάτσικας) is a Greek musician, composer and lyricist. He was the main composer, lyricist, and lead singer of the Entekhno rock group Pyx Lax (Πυξ Λαξ) and now a solo artist. Car ...

(himself a fan of the team) and Dionysis Tsaknis.

History

The first football match at AEL FC Arena took place on December 5, 2010, in the framework of its 13th Super League game 2010–11, in the match between AEL FC and

PAOK FC PAOK FC (, ), short for "Pan-Thessalonian Sports club, Athletic Club of Constantinople, Constantinopolitans" (), and commonly known as PAOK Thessaloniki, PAOK Salonika or simply PAOK, is a Greek professional Association football, football cl ...

, which ended with a score of 1–2. The first goal scored on the field came at 11' by PAOK's Chilean footballer,

Pablo Contreras Pablo Andrés Contreras Fica (; born 11 September 1978) is a Chilean retired Association football, footballer who last played for Melbourne Victory FC, Melbourne Victory and the Chile national football team as a centre back or even as a right ba ...

Gallery

File:AELFCARENA.jpeg, Aerial view File:AEL FC Arena Main Building.jpg, External view File:AEL FC ARENA.jpg, Smoke machines in operation File:AEL FC Arena Inside View.jpg, Stands of AEL FC Arena File:AEL Arena.jpg, Stands of AEL FC Arena

References

External links

AEL FC Arena at AEL's official website

AEL FC Arena project page
Football venues in Greece Athlitiki Enosi Larissa F.C. Buildings and structures in Larissa {{Greece-sports-venue-stub