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 Interactive map of Pankritio Stadium | |
| Location | Heraklion,Crete, Greece |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 35°20′12″N25°6′22″E / 35.33667°N 25.10611°E /35.33667; 25.10611 |
| Owner | Hellenic Olympic Committee |
| Operator | City ofHeraklion |
| Capacity | 26,240[2] |
| Record attendance | 27,950 (Ergotelis vOlympiacos, 20 February 2005)[1] |
| Field size | 105 x 68 m |
| Surface | Grass |
| Scoreboard | LED |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 1990 |
| Built | 31 December 2003 |
| Opened | 31 March 2004 |
| Renovated | June 2025 |
| Construction cost | € 50,000,000 |
| Architect | Vassilis Floudas & Associates |
| Tenants | |
| Ergotelis (2004−2022) OFI (2005−2009, 2025−) Greece national football team | |
| Website | |
| www.aahaeota.gr | |
ThePankritio Stadium (Greek:Παγκρήτιο Στάδιο,Pagkritio Stadio, literally:Pancretan Stadium) is a multi-purpose sportsstadium located inHeraklion on the island ofCrete. It was completed on 31 December 2003, and officially opened on 31 March 2004. As one of the most modern sports venues inGreece at the time, it was used as one of thefootball venues to host matches of the2004 Summer Olympic football tournament. It has a capacity of 26,240 seats, and was the home ground of local association football clubsErgotelis. It also serves as the home stadium ofOFI (starting from the 2025-26 season onwards) and also consists of one ofGreece national team's home grounds.
The Pankritio Stadium is located inHeraklion, at the Lido district to the west of the city center. It has been built about 50 meters from the island coast, and is neighbored by theLido Indoor Hall and the city's outdoor pool venue,[3] of which the whole district is named after (Lido).
The stadium broke ground sometime during the late 80s, however construction work was not completed on time, and was eventually indefinitely postponed.[3] OnceGreece won the bid to host the2004 Summer Olympics, construction of the stadium was finally picked up once again in 2001.[3] It was eventually completed on 31 December 2003.[3] The total construction cost was estimated at €50,000,000.[3] The new stadium was officially opened on 31 March 2004, to host an internationalfriendly game betweenGreece andSwitzerland.[4]
Due to its size, age and ranking, the Pankritio was selected as one of the football venues of the2004 Summer Olympics Football Tournament, hosting in total 10 matches (5men's Group Stage matches, 2women's Group Stage matches, onemen's Quarterfinals match, onewomen's Quarterfinals match and onewomen's Semi-Final match).[5] After the tournament, the stadium was rented out, and has since been used as a training and home ground of the city'sfootball clubErgotelis, and occasionally also byGreece.[5] In 2006, the Pankritio hosted the2005–06 Greek Cup Final, the first to be played inHeraklion since 1931.
Although primarily considered afootball stadium, the Pankritio, has also been used to host majorathletics events, such as the2004 Tsiklitiria annualIAAF World Challenge meeting and the2015 European Team Championships First League.[5] The stadium has also been used for a number of music concerts, most notably hostingDeep Purple andVasilis Papakonstantinou on May 6, 2011.[6]
In 2015 parts of the stadium's west-side roof were detached following a major wind storm affecting Crete.[7] Eventually the roof would be detached completely for safety reasons. In 2021, the roof was re-attached, however in 2024 the stadium was closed temporarily following another roof detachment, this time at the east side of the stadium.[8]
In 2025, renovation works began at the stadium in light ofupcoming friendly matches hosted by the Greek national football team, to meet the highest UEFA category standards, consisting of 50 VIP seats, the addition of extra low energy lights, new sets of railings of different sizes will be installed, and overall exterior rejuvenation.[9]
The Pankritio Stadium sports complex features in total two football grounds built to international standards (main stadium and training ground), an 8-lane track, an auxiliary 6-lane track, an indoor gym and swimming pool, multi-purpose halls forboxing,wrestling,fencing,dance,weightlifting,shooting, andtae kwon do, arowing simulator and a physiotherapy room with sauna and hot tub.[5] Additionally, the stadium features seminar meeting rooms, a dining room, and a showroom featuring exhibits from the2004 Summer Olympics and2011 Special Olympics.[5]
The complex is neighbored by the city's outdoor swimming pool and theLido Indoor Hall.[3]
The stadium has been used as the home ground ofFootball League football teamErgotelis, since its opening in 2004, as their traditional home turfNikos Kazantzakis Stadium was declared unfit for use in official matches at any level of theGreek football league system since 2004. Between 2006 and 2009, the stadium was also used byErgotelis' rivalOFI, until their original home ground,Theodoros Vardinogiannis Stadium, upgrade was done. However, in 2025, given the constant reduction of usable spectator capacity due to safety issues, Pankritio will indefinitely serve as OFI's home starting from the 2025-26 season.[10]
On occasion, the Pankritio has also hosted home games of theGreece, notably attracting large numbers of spectators from all over theisland.
The stadium attendance record and first ever sold-out event was set on 20 February 2005, in aSuperleague match betweenErgotelis and reigning championsOlympiacos with 27,950 tickets being sold.[1] The result was a 2−1 victory for the home team.
Pankritio Stadium hosted six games of themen's football tournament at the 2004 Summer Olympics, and four games of thewomen's Olympic Football tournament.
| Date | Time | Team No. 1 | Res. | Team No. 2 | Round | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 August 2004 | 20:30 |  Tunisia | 1–1 |  Australia | Group C | 15,757[11] |
| 12 August 2004 | 20:30 |  Costa Rica | 0–0 |  Morocco | Group D | 3,212[12] |
| 14 August 2004 | 20:30 |  Serbia and Montenegro | 1–5 | Australia | Group C | 8,857[13] |
| 15 August 2004 | 20:30 | Morocco | 1–2 |  Portugal | Group D | 7,581[14] |
| 18 August 2004 | 20:30 | Costa Rica | 4–2 | Portugal | Group D | 11,218[15] |
| 21 August 2004 | 18:00 |  Iraq | 1–0 | Australia | Quarter-finals | 10,023[16] |
| Date | Time | Team No. 1 | Res. | Team No. 2 | Round | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 August 2004 | 18:00 |  Greece | 0–3 |  United States | Group C | 15,757[17] |
| 14 August 2004 | 20:30 | Greece | 0–1 | Australia | Group C | 8,857[18] |
| 20 August 2004 | 21:00 |  Mexico | 0–5 |  Brazil | Quarter-finals | 3,012[19] |
| 23 August 2004 | 18:00 | United States | 2–1 (a.e.t.) |  Germany | Semi finals | 5,165[20] |
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