More information concerning Toumba reconstruction comes to light
In a recent interview, PAOK FC Facilities Manager, Ioannis Dimogiannis, revealed that building work on the new Toumba Stadium will probably begin in early 2020, with the arena set to be ready for use in the summer of 2022.
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Initially, reports suggested that building work on the new Toumba would begin this year, but when speaking to the FORZA media outlet, Dimogiannis stated that realistically the construction process will start in January 2020: “I think that we will have the building permit in our hands by 2020,” said Dimogiannis. “This is realistic. Then, in January, we can start constructing the arena.
If work begins in 2020, how long will it take for the stadium to be fully built? Following discussions with our building contractors, we can say that the process should last between 20 and 24 months, so it should be ready in June 2022 if works starts in the first quarter of 2020. This is the optimistic scenario. We’ve made extensive research, so assuming there won’t be any delays, this will be the time scale.”
In the same interview, Dimogiannis was asked about when PAOK will move to the Kaftanzoglio Stadium while the Toumba undergoes reconstruction: “Is there a chance that PAOK will start the 2019/2020 season at Toumba instead of the Kaftanzoglio Stadium? I didn’t say that. We cannot sell season tickets for two seperate arenas. At this moment in time, our target is to complete all of the legal procedures which should be achieved in late 2019.
Our goal is to create the most modern stadium in Greece. PAOK FC owner, Ivan Savvidis, said that the whole of Europe will be talking about this arena.”
The reconstruction project for the Toumba Stadium is reported to cost 150 million euros.
PAOK will make a final decision concerning where they will compete in the 2019/2020 campaign after receiving a response for their project from the local authorities in Thessaloniki and Macedonia, but assuming everything goes to plan, they will play at the Kaftanzoglio Stadium next season. Updates to the Kaftanzoglio, which will make the arena available for use in UEFA competitions, cost around 1.8 million. PAOK will begin their 2019/2020 UEFA Champions League season in the qualifying rounds this summer.
