Blueprint for use of Olympic venues is set out

Government rules out sale of sites

Seven months after the end of the Athens Olympics and following several delays, the government yesterday presented the draft law that it hopes will pave the way for the commercial use — but not the sale — of the venues, which were built at a cost of 2.25 billion euros and finished just in time for the Games.

“The time has come for the gigantic financial investment made for the Olympic Games to pay off a ‘capital gains’ reward for the Greek people,” said Alternate Culture Minister Fanni Palli-Petralia as she presented the bill at the main Olympic Stadium complex yesterday.

The draft law, which will be submitted to Parliament “very soon,” will provide the legal framework to allow cultural centers, restaurants and shops, among others to use the grounds of Olympic sites. However, the alternate minister provided few specifics about exactly how, when and by whom the sites would be used.

Palli-Petralia said the government had held talks with several interested domestic and foreign investors about use of the venues, but did not give any more details. She was adamant, however, that the sites would remain in the hands of the state. “Nothing is for sale, and nothing will be sold," said Palli-Petralia.

Among the more concrete proposals announced yesterday were that a golf course, a hotel and a heliport would be built at the equestrian center in Markopoulo. The Aghios Cosmas sailing center will be turned into a marina with a capacity for 1,170 boats. A 30-room five-star hotel will also be built on the site.

In fact, Palli-Petralia labeled the bill as ecologically friendly since it ruled out the possibility of extra construction on most sites, meaning that businesses would be limited to pre-existing buildings.

One of the few exceptions will be the site of the former Athens airport at Hellenikon, where 100 of its 530 hectares of its land will be given over to developers. However, the bill does not allow the erection of buildings on the site until a complete plan for the venue is approved. The rest of the site is due to be transformed into what the government — echoing its socialist predecessor — claims will be the largest metropolitan park in Europe. The softball, field hockey and baseball stadiums, which were to have been torn down, will be kept as open-air concert arenas, restaurants and sports fields.

Furthermore, some 20 percent of the nearby barren area where the Athens racetrack used to stand will be given over to development, with the rest of the site becoming a park.