Abandoned football ground and Olympic venue frozen in time reclaimed by nature

A football stadium used in the Olympic Games has been overcome by nature after its abandonment.

Hellinikon Stadium, otherwise known as the Olympic Baseball Centre, was erected in preparation for the 2004 Games as the quadrennial competition returned to Athens, for the first time since the inaugural Games of 1896. The complex, situated eight miles south of the Greek capital, consisted of venues for basketball, handball, fencing, hockey, baseball, softball and canoe slalom.

It was the USA who romped to the top of the medal table, claiming a total of 101 medals – 36 of them gold, with Great Britain finishing a respectable tenth, banking nine gold medals, nine silver and 12 bronze.

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After the passing of the baton to Beijing, the Olympic Baseball Centre's main stadium was renovated into a football ground, eventually holding a capacity of 10,000 spectators.

Penning a six-year deal to use the stadium, local outfit Ethnikos were sworn into their new home during the 2007/08 campaign but no further agreement was made and the club moved to the 2,500-capacity Moschato ground in 2014.

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Renamed Elliniko Stadium after its transformation for football, the arena has been uninhabited since Ethnikos relocated – though the venue was briefly used as a refugee camp for those awaiting to be processed in Greece.

Situated across three camps, over three thousand refugees lived in mostly tented accommodation.

Now a shadow of its former glory, the stadium's pitch has dried out under the blistering heat of the Athens sun with discoloured seats, ripped tarpaulin and knocked-over advertising boards all adding to the sorry state of affairs at the former luxury arena.

Wildlife also runs wild where there was once an immaculate green carpet for second-tier side Ethnikos, who even lifted the EPS Piraeus Championship whilst playing their football in Elliniko Stadium.

There are provisional plans to convert much of the disused complex into a metropolitan park. Any work would require the venues to be demolished rather than renovated.

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