AEK boss faces double front on plan for stadium’s shift

Club’s amateur wing and mayor both oppose relocation

AEK’s amateur division, which controls a minority stake in the sports club, and the Municipality of Nea Philadelphia, northern Athens, where the team has been traditionally based, envisage a common plan for siting a new stadium on the club’s existing site, the country’s top sporting official said yesterday.

Deputy Culture Minister Giorgos Orfanos, who holds the country’s sports portfolio, met yesterday with the amateur division’s boss, Andreas Anatoliotakis, and Nea Philadelphia Mayor Nikos Adamopoulos for a meeting on the issue.

The location of the club’s new stadium has been a source of conflict between AEK’s amateur division — which holds a small stake in all the club’s sporting disciplines except basketball — and club president Demis Nikolaidis, who favors a move.

Nikolaidis, a former AEK soccer star who took over in 2004 and brought the historic club back from looming bankruptcy after persuading government officials to offer major debt relief, has advocated relocation, arguing that the traditional base stifles the club’s ambitious plans for a bigger and better complex. AEK’s amateur division insists that the club should remain connected with its traditional base.

The club’s old stadium was demolished just over two years ago, even though no details regarding a new stadium had been decided on. AEK presently plays its home games at the Athens Olympic Stadium.

Nikolaidis was attacked by an embittered club fan at Athens airport last weekend for his position on the prospective stadium. The club head pressed several charges — including one for grievous bodily harm — against Thanassis Tsiogas, an organized club fan. The trial, which began yesterday, was postponed until April 26.

Besides seeking a better option for the new stadium, Nikolaidis has also pushed to eliminate hooliganism in a family-oriented appeal for soccer.

Local attendance figures have remained poor for well over a decade, mainly due to the repercussions of unresolved hooliganism concerns.