Senior officials from the Municipality of Thessaloniki have held a high-level coordination meeting with representatives of PAOK to review the next steps for the long-awaited New Toumba stadium project, a development framed as a major urban regeneration scheme for the city.
The meeting brought together members of PAOK's board and project team with the city's mayor and deputy mayors responsible for urban planning, technical works, mobility, and digital policy. According to PAOK representatives, preparatory work has reached an advanced stage, with all required technical and planning studies either completed or underway. They stressed that close coordination between the municipality, the regional authority and the central government will be essential if the project is to progress at the pace expected by the club's large fanbase.
PAOK officials described the New Toumba as potentially one of the largest urban redevelopment projects ever undertaken within a major Greek municipality. Beyond the stadium itself, the plans envisage a broader transformation of the Toumba neighbourhood, including upgraded public spaces and improved urban connectivity.
Acknowledging the project's complexity, Mayor Stelios Angeloudis stated that the municipality will keep administrative services on standby for fast turnaround times for permits and approvals. He emphasised that the New Toumba should be understood as a development that concerns all of Thessaloniki, given its scale, location and wider social impact. Particular reference was made to the redevelopment of the surrounding "Alana of Toumba" area, which is expected to play a key role in integrating the stadium into the urban fabric.
At this stage, the mayor noted, cooperation between the municipality and PAOK focuses on facilitating formal procedures and inter-institutional coordination, rather than on construction or financing, which remain the responsibility of the project company and PAOK-linked bodies. He added that synchronisation between local government, the regional authority, the relevant ministries and the club is critical.
From a design perspective, the project has been reworked by the international architecture firm Populous, in collaboration with the Greek consultancy SALFO. The revised plans retain the historic Toumba site while incorporating green corridors, shared public spaces, and architectural elements linked to PAOK's identity. Current capacity estimates range from 33,500 to 40,000 seats.
By Kostas Kechagias - adapted from Greek by Vassia Barba.
