The spirit of Athens 2004 lives on. Freshly renovated by the Hellenic Olympic Committee with the support of Alpha Bank, the Schinias Olympic Rowing Centre was inaugurated in the presence of Isidoros Kouvelos, President of the Hellenic Olympic Committee, Spyros Kapralos, President of the European Olympic Committees, and Annamarie Phelps, Vice President of World Rowing.

Built for the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, the venue has undergone a major refurbishment: cleaning, restoration and maintenance of the platforms, sluice gates, drainage pipelines and waterproofing systems, installation of new seats in the grandstands, and renovation of the accommodation facilities. The centre is now ready once again to welcome athletes under excellent conditions.

“Our Olympic legacy is a responsibility, far more than just photographs and memories. It is a daily struggle. It is the choice not to abandon a legacy built with effort, investment and national pride. The Schinias Rowing Centre was constructed for the Athens 2004 Olympic Games at a cost of €88 million. Yet, for many years, it remained silent, far removed from the role and mission for which it was created,” said Isidoros Kouvelos, who wishes to make the use and restoration of the country’s major Olympic venues “a strategic priority.”

Alpha Bank provided essential support for the project. “As the bank of the 2004 Olympic Games, we wanted to halt the decline of our Olympic heritage,” commented Vasilis Psaltis, the Group’s CEO. “And we were fortunate to find partners who shared the same vision: the Hellenic Olympic Committee, which ensured, despite numerous bureaucratic obstacles, that the works were completed on schedule, and the Rowing Federation, which has been fighting for years to preserve this iconic venue.”