AEL FC Arena

AEL FC Arena is a football stadium in Larissa, Greece, 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.

AEL FC Arena

Full name	AEL FC Arena
Location	Larissa, Greece
Coordinates	39°36′55″N 22°23′57″E
Public transit	Larissa railway station
Owner	Gipedo Larissa A.E.
Operator	AEL
Executive suites	38
Capacity	16,118 (expandable to 18,000)
Record attendance	15.849 (A.E. Larissa vs PAOK Thessaloniki – Superleague Greece, 5 December 2010)
Field size	105 x 68 m
Surface	Grass
Scoreboard	2 LED
Construction
Broke ground	May 2009
Built	September 2009 – November 2010
Opened	23 November 2010
Construction cost	€42 million
Architect	Potiropoulos D L architects S.A.
Structural engineer	Ntontos ATE - Katharios ATEVE - ERGO3 ATTEE
Tenants
A.E. Larissa (2010–2013, 2015–2020, 2023–) Apollon Larissa (2020–2021) Iraklis Larissa (2021–2023)
Website
AEL FC Arena

The stadium was developed in a total of 144,000 square meters in the Mezourlo Hill, district of Neapolis, Larissa. Construction of the stadium started in September 2009 and was completed in November 2010. According to UEFA stadium categories, AEL FC Arena is rated as category three of four, (renamed from elite) in ascending ranking order.

The seating capacity 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, and a 1,500-seat open-air theater, 12 tennis courts 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 (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, 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.

Gallery

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  Aerial view
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  External view
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  Smoke machines in operation
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  Stands of AEL FC Arena
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  Stands of AEL FC Arena

External links

• AEL FC Arena at AEL's official website (in Greek)
• AEL FC Arena project page Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine (in English)