Court gives green light to Greens’ stadium
Panathinaikos soccer club had reason to celebrate yesterday after the Council of State gave the go-ahead for the team’s new stadium to be built in the downtown area of Votanikos but the City of Athens was told it could not build a new headquarters on the site and nor will the Babis Vovos construction firm be allowed to erect a shopping mall there. The project has been delayed by months of legal wrangling after residents took action against the plans to build a mall, arguing that the necessary facilities, such as parking, would not be available and that the neighborhood would be blighted as a result. Greece’s highest administrative court ruled that plans to build new premises for City Hall as well as the shopping center were unconstitutional as it would reduce the amount of communal space on the site. The court, however, said that the stadium, an adjoining sports complex and some shops could be built on the site.
