Built in 1982 for the 1982 European Athletics Championships and the Hellenic Football Federation's host bid for the 1990 FIFA World Cup, it became the national stadium of Greece.

In its original iteration, it served as the home ground for football clubs Panathinaikos from 1984 to 2000, Olympiacos from 1984 to 1989 and again from 1997 to 2002, and AEK Athens from 1985 to 1987.

As part of the greater construction of the Olympic Sports Complex, the stadium was substantially renovated from 2002 to 2004, to some controversy, highlighted by its trademark roof, designed by Santiago Calatrava.

After the Games, it hosted Panathinaikos on several occasions from 2005 to 2023 and AEK Athens from 2004 to 2022, while serving as the country's primary sports venue.

One year later, in 1983, OAKA Stadium hosted the 1983 European Cup final between Hamburger SV and Juventus.

The club had successfully experimented with the stadium's usage in its 1982–83 and 1983–84 European campaigns, which included a 2–0 win against Dutch giants AFC Ajax in September 1983, and a 0–4 loss to eventual winners Hamburger in November 1982, which recorded the ground's highest official figures to date, at 75,223 spectators, although unofficial estimates for many events range higher.

[3] Olympiacos returned to the Karaiskakis Stadium in 1989, but as their contract for the stadium rent expired in 1997, the team returned to the Olympic Stadium, which ushered an era of unprecedented success, as the team would win five consecutive league titles and reach the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League in the 1998–99 season, establishing a long period of dominance in Greek football, characterised by famous club players such as Christian Karembeu and Giovanni, before departing in 2002 to make way for the Olympic renovations.

The stadium's attendance was reduced to 72,000 for the Olympics, the initial capacity was some 75,000, though only 69,618 seats were made publicly available for the track and field events and slightly more for the football final.

Greece applied together with Turkey to host the 2008 and 2012 European Football Championships, with the finals supposed to have taken place in the Athens Olympic Stadium.

[10] On 18 March 2012, wild incidents occurred in the derby between Panathinaikos and Olympiacos, as after the goal from the red and whites at the eleventh minute, hooligans from the home team threw Molotov cocktails at the stands, which were filled with around 50,000 spectators, and the pitch.

The game was subsequently cancelled and awarded 0–3 for Panthrakikos, as AEK Athens were eventually relegated for the first time in their history after being deducted an additional three points.

[15] After the inspection, the stadium and the nearby Athens Olympic Velodrome were subsequently ordered to stop instituting any sort of organized events inside the venues and effectively shut down over safety failures.

Its construction was revolutionary and involved the use of a prefabrication method for the 34 sets of pillars supporting the stands (each weighed 600 tons).

About 26,000 seats of the lower tier were covered, while the stadium's most striking feature were the four leaning pillars that held its floodlights, each being 62 metres tall.

The capsules are adjoining, their size is 1.2*1.2m and are situated on a flat cement surface of two acres, flanked by two lateral drainage channels.

Competition Area Designed by the Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, the roof cost €256.2 million.

[18] Access by: Car - Exit the city centre to the north via Kifissias Avenue and just follow the road signs to "OAKA".