«Party» season tickets at OAKA with direct assignments

The facilities of the Athens Olympic Sports Centre require systematic care and technical support. However, the lack of such technical staff has led the management of the Olympic Stadium not to recruit, but to opt for direct outsourcing to private companies, often with a high financial impact. And it is characteristic that a Documento investigation on Transparency shows that only for the company «Lianou Theano Theano» in the last eight years, amounts totalling 380,000 euros have been spent on metal construction and related work.

In particular, from 22 February 2017 to 10 July 2025, decisions for projects related to this operation amount to €379,252, while €315,417 have already been paid by payment order. These are a wide range of assignments, from simple door restorations to large metal structures and entrance fencing.

Damage restoration

Indicatively, on 10/07/2025 the company was awarded by the management of Konstantinos Haliori a project for the construction and installation of metal structures at the Peania facility for a total amount of 34,844 euros.

On 29/04/2022, the company was awarded a contract for the restoration of damage to roofs and fencing due to the snow at a cost of 6,820 euros. On the same day, the company «Lianou Theano» was awarded the contract to carry out the necessary works for the configuration, improvement and renovation of the press room at the bicycle track at a cost of 6,138 euros.

On 18/08/2022, damage restoration from the Greek Cup final was approved for 10,168 euros, while in December 2021 two projects were awarded in succession: restoration of suspended ceilings and repair of metal doors at the velodrome for 10,540 euros and new sections of fencing at the swimming pool and Gate D for 19,344 euros.

On 21/11/2022, the company «Lianou Theano» was awarded the supply and installation of galvanized trapezoidal sheet metal at the central stadium of OAKA for a total amount of 5.890 euros.

In December 2021, the company was awarded a contract for the construction of office space for the deputy director of OAKA for a total value of EUR 4,476.

On 06/08/2021 two contracts were recorded for works at the indoor swimming pool: one for wall coverings and metal door (26.040 euros) and one for repairs and removal of ramps for disabled persons (16.368 euros) with the total amount reaching 42.408 euros. The project was «broken» to be awarded by direct award.

Similarly, on 26/05/2021, 19.592 euros were allocated for the replacement of metal doors and grilles.

In 2020, the company was awarded the construction and installation of a single-leaf door and the transfer of an existing door to the tennis facility for a total value of 967 euros, the conversion of two fixed glazing panels into opening windows and the dismantling of a metal partition for 942 euros and the installation of 30 pieces of stainless steel sheet metal for the showers of the changing rooms of the OAKA swimming pool for an amount of 2,604 euros.

Finally, it is noteworthy that in 2019, six years before the most recent award, the same company received smaller-scale projects such as: installation of metal structures for entrance control to the auxiliary stadiums worth 2,703 euros, construction and installation of metal structures for entrance control to the training fields of OAKA's training ground with a total value of 744 euros and restoration of damage to sheet metal of basketball and tennis facilities worth 1,426 euros.

The truth of the numbers

There are of course the decisions without an accompanying payment order on Transparency, such as the award on 31/12/2020 for the configuration of WC areas in the central stadium of OAKA and their conversion into doping control areas at a cost of 11.904 euros.

The numbers speak for themselves. Total contracts for one company alone, over eight years, are close to 400,000 euros. This is without taking into account other companies with contracts for similar projects.

The questions that remain are: How essential are these interventions for the overall image of OAKA? And, most importantly, why are these sums not invested in creating a permanent technical team, with technicians and engineers to serve the needs of the complex without the need for constant contracting, reducing costs and increasing quality control?;