The stadium was originally designed in 1979 and built in 1980-1982. It was completed in time to host the 1982 European Championships in Athletics. It was inaugurated by the President of Greece, at the time, Konstantinos Karamanlis on 8 September 1982. It also hosted several events of the 1991 Mediterranean Games and the 1997 IAAF World Championships in Athletics, sought in order to prove that it was capable of hosting major sporting events after the failure of Athens to win the 1996 Summer Olympics. It was extensively renovated in time for the Olympics, including a controversial roof designed by Santiago Calatrava that was added atop the sidelines in order to shade fans from the strong Athens sun. The roof was completed just in time for the opening of the Games, and the stadium was then officially re-opened on July 30, 2004.
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