Mitsotakis about OAKA: "No maintenance for 20 years"

All events at the Olympic Stadium and Velodrome of the Athens Olympic Sports Center (OACA) have been suspended since September 29 due to security reasons. It turned out that the roof was in poor condition; it had not been serviced for 20 years…

According to a statement by the management of OAKA, the stadium is closed for an indefinite period of time, and all work on the central circulation line of the complex connecting the Olympic Stadium and the Velodrome has also been suspended.

OAKA said the decision was based on an inspection report of the metal structures and polycarbonate roofs of the OAKA sports complex, which “do not comply with regulatory acceptable levels of static sufficiency.” The report was carried out within the framework of the reconstruction agreement signed by the Ministry of Sports, OAKA and the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (HRADF).

The OAKA complex, with its iconic arches, was designed by architect Santiago Calatrava and opened for use at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. Its cost was estimated at 130 million euros. Over time, funding was allocated for its maintenance, which disappeared in an unknown direction.

We knew there would be problems

“We understood that there was a serious problem, which was documented by a recent study. This is what we understood. And it is right that this evacuation occurred,” said NTUA seismic structures professor Kostas Spiracos, speaking about the OAKA stability problems.

“From the first day when the stadium begins to operate, the process of its inspection and maintenance must begin. In 2006, I participated in the scientific commission that prepared managementwhere it is described in detail what checks must be carried out, what instruments must be placed in order to detect the size and location of damage in time, so that immediate and effective intervention can be made,” the professor said in an interview with ERT, “ however, this guidance was not followed…”

Background

In July 2004, in preparation for the Olympic Games, the stadium received an impressive roof designed by world-renowned architect Santiago Calatrava, with the final cost of the project reaching €130 million.

The 72-year-old Spaniard has created many other impressive projects around the world, but some of them have also encountered problems, forcing some municipalities to take legal action against the famous architect.

According to a report by Alpha, in Valencia, 8 years after the opening of the City of Arts and Sciences, part of the façade of the White Elephant opera house collapsed due to wind.

Mitsotakis: “The problem is lack of maintenance”

Kyriakos Mitsotakis wrote in his weekly review of government work that it was the first time the situation had been reviewed since 2004. “It is known that OAKA has not been maintained for two decades,” the Prime Minister added. “Who doesn’t feel disappointed when they see images of such important facilities that have been left to the mercy of fate for so many years? That’s what we want to change. That’s why we We are investing, that’s why we started this reconstruction, that’s why the research is being done.”

Where did the 8 million allocated for maintenance go?

About 10 years ago, the then Deputy Minister of Sports Yiannis Andrianos allocated 8 million euros for the maintenance of the Calatrava roof, the Attica region pledged to use it, but during the work the money disappeared and its fate is unknown.

The decision to “close” OAKA, Greece’s main Olympic stadium, has revealed a number of facts regarding the poor maintenance and control of the country’s largest stadium. Why, after 2004 and the installation of the Calatrava roof at the main stadium and velodrome, serious changes only occurred in 2023 – this is the main question. Researching the years leading up to this has yielded some interesting results.

In particular, in 2014, the Deputy Minister of Sports in the Samaras government, Yiannis Andrianos, managed to secure the allocation of 8 million euros from the Public Investment Program (PIP), which was aimed at repairing the Calatrava roof at the Olympic Stadium. According to reports at the time, these funds were in fact allocated by the Ministry of Development for the PDE of the Attica region.

The then governor of the Attica region, Yiannis Sgouros, accepted Mr Andrianos’ offer and it was expected that tenders would continue. However, the subsequent elections brought the well-known Rena Dura to power in the Attica region. The new government paid great attention to “cleaning up” contracts, and one of the publications in 2015 spoke of Ms. Duru’s intention to become familiar with their full contents so that “there would be no surprises.”

The question, of course, is why these two tenders ultimately failed. Inspection and maintenance of the sheds were never carried out, although the region had money. In addition to the fact that the Olympic Stadium was once again left to the mercy of fate, the question arises about the fate of the 8 million euros that Mr. Andrianos received.

The prosecutor’s investigation into OAKA’s maintenance begins immediately: the reported problem with the Calatrava canopy has generated numerous responses, and OAKA and the cycle track are closed indefinitely.

As reported by ertnews.gr, the technical chamber carried out a second study at the same time, and prosecutor Nikolaos Margaritis, by order of the head of the Athens prosecutor’s office Antonis Eleftherianou, will investigate the issue of the maintenance of the facilities, and the offenses being investigated will, in particular, endangerment and violation of construction safety rules.

More specifically, the investigation should find out:

• What were the manufacturer’s maintenance recommendations and were they followed?
• Were there recommendations from other organizations regarding periodic maintenance, and if so, to whom were they presented, and what were the results?
• Why was the study done that now shows there is a problem with sustainability, and what is the reason for it?

The government assured that all necessary steps will be taken to resolve the problems as quickly as possible…

Problems with suspension

OAKA managers did not specify how long the suspension would last, but added that a second report would be issued as quickly as possible, providing more details and confirming or denying the data presented in the first report.

If this security measure is not resolved by the end of October, it is expected to create problems for FC “Panathinaikos” in terms of its European games, as OAKA is its home ground during Europa League games, with a game against Rennes on October 26 and Maccabi Haifa on December 14, 2023. And this is not counting the fact that OAKA is one of the main venues for major music events…

PS It’s just not clear, where did the money go? Will they be searched for?

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