By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
The contract for the concession of OAKA was signed and Dimitris Giannakopoulos made statements talking about this important event but also about Ergin Ataman.
The full statement:
The contract for the concession of OAKA was signed. It’s a fact now. There are things that are said, but not done, and things that are done, but not said, Konstantinos Karamanlis once said. However, there are things that are both said and done. You just have to have will and passion. And above all, don’t accept defeat. The goal is for Panathinaikos to acquire its own home, the best team in the history of Greek sports was a personal bet. It was one of the things I had committed to from the first moment and there was no way it wasn’t going to happen. Not only for the greatness and history of the Club but for justice. And he who has with him the warriors who are called right and true never loses.
Panathinaikos now has its own home. The OAKA. “PAULOS GIANNAKOPOULOS”. Here is where History was written. Here is where History is written and will be written. In gold letters. As this team knows.
For this to happen we went through a lot and heard more. We have overcome all obstacles. Whatever they put on us. By legitimate and illegitimate means. Enemies and… friends. They failed. Because they had falsehood and injustice with them. They were and are dwarfs in front of the size of Panathinaikos…
The ideal would be for the whole Association to be co-located in Botanikos, but even so, seeing that this plan is progressing, I feel satisfied having put my own little stone, as President of the Amateur.
Panathinaikos now has its own home. And that means a lot. Both in terms of prospects and the value of the OEM. An already great Brand Name now becomes not just attractive, but the most attractive in the whole of Europe. Somewhere here, I want to thank the Government and especially the Prime Minister for the happy ending of this case. Because in Greece many times even the self-evident requires years of effort in order to be implemented and the concession of the OAKA should have taken place… a few governments ago.
The road, however, to turn positive prospects into reality is not easy. The OAKA today is loss-making, it carries contracts that are in force, as well as free concessions, such as hosting the EEC for example. To get to the level we want, it takes time and money. Many and large investments are needed.
Panathinaikos now has its own home. And the most important thing is that we achieved our goal without taking a single millimeter back in matters of principles and above all without mortgaging our History.
And from this home of his own, he will launch the counter-attack so that he can return to where he belongs competitively. At the top of Greece and Europe. Basketball is changing, the Euroleague is changing… We paid our revolution, our fight for justice very dearly at all levels. In money and wins. We sent Bertomeu home to…Some spoke of vindication. But it is not. It would be if we got back the wins that were denied us, the qualifiers, and possibly the trophies… And of course, the money from the merciless hunt, because I was telling the truth. The fines imposed for the recent incidents at Real-Partizan – and not only – now prove the empathy and the real goals of the Bertomeu regime towards me: I had to keep quiet or be exterminated. Neither one nor the other succeeded.
With the new administration, I feel there is a willingness to do justice. And because blood and water do not happen, together with coach Ataman, the most successful coach in Europe in recent years, I am sure that Panathinaikos will get what they have been deprived of, double and triple. We will defeat anyone who gets in our way in Greece and Europe. And we will send home anyone who thinks of wronging us…
Let everyone hear this. Enemies and friends. In Greece and Europe. That’s enough.
Panathinaikos now has its own home…
However, he no longer has a ceiling in his dreams. You will see it soon. Enemies and friends…
I hope that OAKA will have the respect of all of us. The people of Panathinaikos will treat it as their home. It’s our home now. The home of our Panathinaikos.
In the next period, we will be able to present with the company that will undertake the configuration and management of the stadium the detailed plan for the future of OAKA, as well as the stages of its renovation in images”.