Alphamega Stadium

Alphamega Stadium

Limassol Stadium
Full name	Alphamega Stadium
Location	Kolossi, Limassol District, Cyprus
Coordinates	34°41′36″N32°56′21″E / 34.69333°N 32.93917°E / 34.69333; 32.93917
Parking	1,024 [1]
Owner	Cyprus Sports Organisation (CSO)
Operator	A.A.A. Limassol Stadium Ltd
Executive suites	44
Capacity	11,000
Record attendance	9,667 (Cyprus vs Spain, 16 November 2023) [2]
Field size	105 m × 67 m (344 ft × 220 ft)
Surface	Natural Grass
Construction
Broke ground	28 January 2019
Built	January 2019 – November 2022
Opened	25 November 2022
Construction cost	€45,220,000 [3]
Architect	Petros Kontaridis
General contractor	Cyfield – Neophytou J.V.
Tenants
Apollon Limassol (2022–present) AEL Limassol (2022–present) Aris Limassol (2022–present)

The Alphamega Stadium, also known as Limassol Stadium for UEFA competitions, is a football stadium in Kolossi, Limassol District, Cyprus, and the home ground of the 3 biggest clubs of Limassol Apollon, AEL and Aris. With an all-seater capacity of 11,000, ^[4] it is the second largest only football stadium and the fifth largest football stadium overall in Cyprus.

Name

The official name of the stadium is Alphamega Stadium. This name resulted from a sponsorship collaboration between the stadium management company and C.A. Papaellinas Emporiki Ltd, the company which owns and manages Alphamega Hypermarkets, for the use of the supermarket's name as the stadium's trade name until the end of the 2027–28 domestic league season. ^{[5] [6]}

History

Initially, the stadium would be built by AEL and Aris on the same site which had been given to the two teams in previous years. The two teams chose the architect Petros Kontaridis, who prepared the plans for the stadium. After the financial crisis of 2013, Apollon agreed to build a stadium together with the other two teams and the plans were modified. ^[7]

Due to the increased costs that the teams could not bear but also due to the fact that the existing Tsirio Stadium had several problems and the city needed a new stadium, the CSO decided to finance the project. ^[8] However, as the project would not be state-owned but would belong to other users and would exceed €15 million in funding, this funding had to be approved by the Directorate-General for Competition of the European Commission. ^[9]

The Directorate-General for Competition of the European Commission considered this funding illegal because the stadium would belong to the teams, thus resulting in preferential treatment by the state for these teams at the expense of other teams. For this reason, the land was transferred to the CSO, which took over the financing of the project and the ownership of the stadium. The CSO granted the management of the stadium to the three teams. ^[10]

The signatures of the construction contracts between the CSO and the Cyfield – Neophytou J.V. joint venture, which undertook to build the stadium, took place on 4 January 2019. ^[11] The construction of the stadium began on 28 January 2019. ^[12]

The official inauguration of the Alphamega Stadium took place on 25 November 2022. ^[13] The first match was played on 15 December 2022 between Apollon and Doxa Katokopias for the 15th matchday of the 2022–23 Cypriot First Division. Apollon won the match with 1–0 score. The first goal which was achieved in the Alphamega Stadium was scored by Khaled Adénon as an own goal. ^[14]

References

1. "Νέο γήπεδο-Αριθμός θέσεων πάρκινγκ". kerkida.net (in Greek). 2022-11-23. Retrieved 2022-12-15.
2. "ΡΕΚΟΡ ΓΗΠΕΔΟΥ: Διατέθηκαν 9.667 εισιτήρια στο Κύπρος-Ισπανία!". balla.com.cy (in Greek). 2023-11-16. Retrieved 2023-11-26.
3. "Γήπεδο ΛΕΜΕΣΟΥ: Στα 45.22 εκατ. το κόστος - Τον Οκτώβριο του 2023 θα παραδοθούν τα έργα στο οδικό δίκτυο". themasports.tothemaonline.com (in Greek). 2022-04-15. Retrieved 2022-11-26.
4. "Γήπεδο Λεμεσού: "Παραθυράκι" για αύξηση χωρητικότητας". kathimerini.com.cy (in Greek). 2022-10-20. Retrieved 2022-11-25.
5. ""Αλφαμέγα Stadium": Όλες οι πληροφορίες για τη χορηγική συμφωνία". inbusinessnews.reporter.com.cy (in Greek). 2022-03-28. Retrieved 2022-01-03.
6. "Alphamega Stadium: Διαχείριση και συντήρηση με βάση τα υψηλότερα επίπεδα". goal.philenews.com (in Greek). 2022-03-31. Retrieved 2022-11-25.
7. "Πίνοντας ένα ποτήρι κρασί με τον αρχιτέκτονα του γηπέδου της Λεμεσού…". themasports.tothemaonline.com (in Greek). 2017-04-07. Archived from the original on 2019-01-04. Retrieved 2022-11-26.
8. "Ο ΚΟΑ παρουσίασε το νέο ποδοσφαιρικό γήπεδο της Λεμεσού". sigmalive.com (in Greek). 2017-10-12. Archived from the original on 2019-01-04. Retrieved 2022-11-26.
9. "Γήπεδο στη Λεμεσό: Αρνητική η Ευρωπαική Επίτροπή λόγω προνομιακής μεταχείρισης ΑΕΛ, Απόλλωνα και Άρη". lemesosblog.com (in Greek). 2017-03-15. Retrieved 2022-11-26.
10. ""Το γήπεδο στη Λεμεσό προχωρά με χρηματοδότηση του ΚΟΑ"". balla.com.cy (in Greek). 2018-04-25. Archived from the original on 2019-01-04. Retrieved 2022-11-26.
11. "Ιστορική στιγμή για το γήπεδο της Λεμεσού - Έπεσαν οι υπογραφές". politis.com.cy (in Greek). 2019-01-04. Archived from the original on 2019-01-04. Retrieved 2022-11-26.
12. "Ξεκίνησε το νέο γήπεδο της Λεμεσού". politis.com.cy (in Greek). 2019-01-29. Archived from the original on 2019-02-10. Retrieved 2022-11-26.
13. "Ολοκληρώθηκαν τα εγκαίνια του "Alphamega Stadium"". sigmalive.com (in Greek). 2022-11-25. Retrieved 2022-11-25.
14. "Απόλλων-Δόξα 1-0: Ιστορική αλλά δύσκολη νίκη!". sportime.sigmalive.com (in Greek). 2022-12-15. Retrieved 2022-12-15.