Giannakopoulos discloses Panathinaikos budget, relationship with Olympiacos owners / News - Basketnews.com

Dimitris Giannakopoulos referred to the major changes the OAKA arena will undergo in the coming months, revealed Panathinaikos' budget for the 2023-24 campaign, and expressed his admiration for Olympiacos' project.

Credit: Vangelis Stolis; Rodolfo Molina/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images Credit Vangelis Stolis; Rodolfo Molina/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images

Panathinaikos Athens saw their rabid fans force Game 4 of the 2022-23 Greek league finals to be permanently interrupted. Some of them ignited flares, caused destruction to the venue, and threw various objects onto the court, leading to the contest againstOlympiacos Piraeusbeing forfeited.

As the fans were leaving the venue, some of them broke dozens of seats and threw them toward the court. The seats fell on the protective net. Some fans lit firecrackers and opened fire extinguishers as Panathinaikos players were heading to the locker room, following their Olympiacos counterparts.

Consequently, Panathinaikos will have to play the first 4 matches of the upcoming Greek League season in the empty gym.

Olympiacos, who were leading 63-35 at that time, won their second consecutive championship and 14th overall, prevailing in the finals 3-1.

That image looks almost like ancient history right now, given the sweeping changes in PAO's camp. However, the Greens are now the exclusive owners of the arena.

In his lengthy interview with SDNA, Dimitris Giannakopoulos made an extensive reference to fan violence and revealed some of his plans regarding the transformation of OAKA.

"Panathinaikos is against all forms of violence," the club's owner said.

"I am not in favor of ultras. But Gate 13 in OAKA is very important. They help us achieve our goals and have a nice environment. I want the home of Gate 13 to be inside the OAKA. I intend to set up a museum, put up pictures of some fans who have passed away, screens displaying their slogans, and create space in the OAKA for their banners," he added.

"We want them there, but within permissible limits. I have to invest, protect the team, and provide a family environment. We agreed they would stop lighting up flares or using lasers," he clarified.

"I can't put €20 million for player salaries and €35 million overall next year, along with the running costs, and have my arena shut down. I want 20.000 people to come to watch the game."

Giannakopoulos said that the message he conveyed to his associates is to provide fans with "the best experience in the world."

"We're the best, the NBA has nothing on us," he boasted.

"We have the knowledge and the conditions we need. At each EuroLeague marketing meeting, 1.5 hours out of two were devoted to PAO. We didn't get a marketing award because [Jordi] Bertomeu didn't want to give it," he mentioned.

PAO's major shareholder wants the OAKA to turn into a theme park three years from now, where everything will work electronically, every corridor will be green, and children will play in outdoor amusement parks.

"Let's have the best audio-visual show, even holograms. In this year's budget, €1.5 million is just for the fan experience in the arena," he said.

Giannakopoulos stressed that the Greek state hadn't preserved the OAKA at a decent level over time. He even mentioned broken pipes, broken toilets, and bad heating.

"That's where the big interventions will take place this year," he pointed out. "Overall, we want to invest around €100 million over the next three years. This year's budget is €35 million for team and operating expenses, but also for OAKA's upgrade. I want everyone to respect that investment," he repeated.

Giannakopoulos said he feels very happy that the Greek government decided to hand PAO the keys to the OAKA and do the same with Olympiacos and the Peace and Friendship Stadium.

"I want Panathinaikos to go from being a loss-maker to a profit-maker. I have all the mood and a clear mind. Having put everything personally on a championship course, I have the knowledge, willingness, and time to make Panathinaikos profitable. I want people to respect the effort," he pointed out.

At the same time, Giannakopoulos thinks itwould be a good idea to have both the Angelopoulos brothers and the Olympiacos people in the same mood.

"I don't want any rivalry. I hope they understand what we have in our hands. I'm sure they're bothered by things. They decided to have [Jordi] Bertomeu replaced. They had no complaints, but they're interested in basketball -- maybe in a different way than me.

Let's sit down and figure things out. Those who put 15-20 million out of their own pockets aren't champions, but idiots."

Asked whether there will be a plandifferentiation in case of failure next season, Giannakopoulos appeared firm in his decision to invest big-time.

"My plan and goals are not sports-related. They are financial. We want as a club to provide the best possible spectacle, on and off the court. For sure, the sports part is very important. We have great expectations, having made a big investment.

But there are other teams too. Olympiacos have chemistry, and in recent years, they've had success with amazing basketball and a very low budget. A model truly enviable. Even without [Kostas] Sloukas and [Sasha] Vezenkov, Olympiacos have shown in recent years that no one is irreplaceable," PAO's owner praised his main rival.

"They have a great coach, they follow a fantastic model, and they are the favorites next year as well. Mr. Ataman and I discussed that we want people to leave the OAKA having experienced many emotions. Not by witnessing a score of 63-62 but 120-119. When you have perseverance and patience, you will also enjoy your labors."

At some point, the Greens were in talks with Pablo Laso, who ended up signing with Bayern Munich. Giannakopoulos clarified that Ergin Ataman had always been his first choice.

"I have always had confidence in Ataman. He has won me over both as a person and as a coach. Zeljko Obradovic is a league on his own, and I think Ataman is the best in Europe and the most successful in the last five years based on results.

He shares the same philosophy with me, and I think we'll make something nice. With Laso, there was communication, but he did not turn us down. Our choice was Ataman."

Since he mentioned Zeljko Obradovic, Giannakopoulos was asked whether the Serbian mastermind could return to Panathinaikos' bench at some point. The Greek businessman left the door open.

"Zeljko is a man I value very much. We have experienced countless moments of joy and sadness on a personal level. In 2012, he made a decision that made me sad. But we have tremendous mutual respect for each other.

If there were no malicious people trying to seize every opportunity and disrupt this relationship with lies, there would probably be no ups and downs. In every 'Pavlos Giannakopoulos tournament, I always invite the team coached by Obradovic. I know his reply will always be: 'Dimitris, I'll be there.'"

More stories from the SDNA interview with Giannakopoulos:

Giannakopoulos reveals talks with Mirotic, Bartzokas, admits soft spot for Vezenkov Giannakopoulos slams Bertomeu, explains his big comeback and investment Like what we are doing? Support us by becoming BN+ member.