AEK celebrated the opening of the OPAP Arena with a brilliant party. Dimitris Melissanidis made his debut on the pitch of the Union’s new stadium and was informed with historical references but also about its importance.

The position of Melissanidis in detail:

“Your honor, President, fans and friends of AEK

We’ve waited a long time, we’ve endured a lot, we’ve overcome obstacles that seemed insurmountable, we’ve hurt ourselves, we’ve cried, we’ve all fought together, but WE ARE BACK!

It seems we are destined to get better through adversity.

We’re not just talking about an important night…

AEK meets his story again tonight! AEK tonight once again identifies with its existence. AEK is re-established tonight. And in two years it will celebrate its centenary here.

This grand night of historic affirmation will not only be experienced by those of us here tonight who are enjoying the moments…

Not only the viewers of the inauguration ceremony experience this from home through the transmission of state television…

With us, from above, are our founders!

Konstantinos Spanoudis, who sees his struggle to allocate this area to refugee children confirmed again… The Iona brothers, Konstantinos Dimopoulos.

Among us are Kostas Negrepontis, Kleanthis Maropoulos, Tryfonas Tzanetis, Yannis Kanakis, all those who wet this stadium with their sweat and wrote golden pages of history!

Somewhere here, next to us is Stelios Serafeidis, his soul will forever live in every corner of our stadium!

Our patriarchs, Nikos Goumas and Loukas Barlos, consider us justified and proud!

With us are our ancestors, our fathers, who first took us by the hand and brought us to these stands to leave us the greatness of this team. With us are our friends and brothers who did not have time to witness this initiation. You are with us tonight! You are living our dream! They rejoice, but also cry with us!

They all came here ninety-eight years ago, before they even built their new house, to volunteer and house the history they had brought from Constantinople, Eastern Thrace, Pontus, Cappadocia, Ionia, Smyrna and Ayvali.

AEK was their lost homeland. And this stadium will once again become the home of the refugee! The epicenter of the most glorious pages of Greek history!

Here we will remember again the great moments we have experienced. Here the strong foundations for the greats of the future are laid, here history is taught and the new generations of AEKtzis are created. Here the whole planet is re-learning the principles and ideals that our team stands for,

I don’t want to spoil today’s celebration by enumerating the difficulties we faced in building this stadium. Because today is a day to celebrate! Let me just say that they were numberless and seemed insurmountable.

I want to thank God for not getting tired of listening to me for so many years. He did what I asked him to do. It was a lifetime dream for all of us that the new stadium would be built on this holy place. Some believed that this project will not be carried out, but I have learned in my life to always keep my promises.

Hagia Sophia is not just a stadium. It is a center for remembrance, culture and sport.

That’s why AEK fans at the stadium have the opportunity to see the entire history of our team with their own eyes in the AEK Museum, one of the most modern in the world.

But we don’t live there. We are also building the Museum of Refugee Hellenism, The Ark of Romiosyny, where Greek children, regardless of their origin and group they support, will have the opportunity to learn all about Refugee Hellenism.

When the team’s fans enter the stadium, they pass through the 45 gates that have names from the homelands of our grandparents: Constantinople, Smyrna, Trebizond, Safrapolis, Caesarea and many others.

There are no lost homes. There are unforgettable homes!

We believe that when our fans enter the stadium through these gates, they will enter their own ‘homeland’. Our field is the restoration of our ancestors’ homeland. It is a homeland in our homeland Greece.

This is indicated by the presence of clubs Asia Minor and Pontus with their banners here tonight. This stadium is a talisman that every AEKtzis will carry with them.

I told you that we can’t make plans for our team without laying a foundation first. AEK has foundations again! It has the strongest foundations!

AEK is now pushing! AEK doesn’t need anyone anymore! She only needs her world! The only stable and timeless guarantor of its history! This field is the great-grandson of the refugee and belongs to our children and grandchildren.

And starting today, this stadium will always have a guardian, a sleepless guardian, protecting it so these walls never fall again. THE TWO-HEADED EAGLE now standing alert and proud at the main entrance of our stadium.

And finally, this stadium does not owe a single euro anywhere. At the end of my speech I would like to thank three people who have done the impossible for the political situation in Greece! Above all, the current regional governor Giorgos Patoulis. We could hardly be here today without his essential contribution! But it is worth noting that Giorgos, eliminating all party shyness, took on a project started by Yiannis Sgouros and continued by Rena Dourou. Everyone understood that this project is above parties and ideologies! It is a temple of Hellenism and refugees.

I would like to give a special mention to OPAP. OPAP has proven that it is rightfully considered the main pillar of Greek sport. He has been a huge supporter of our venture since we started in 2013 and we are delighted to have his name on our stadium’s branding. However, I was particularly moved by the persistence and support of the owner, major shareholder and my good friend Karel Komarek. He showed us love and warmth at every step of this difficult endeavor.

I want to thank the City of New Philadelphia and our Mayor, and especially the neighborhood and neighbors of our stadium who have patiently and conscientiously endured the inconveniences faced by the teams over the years.

I also want to thank all of you who are here tonight, as well as the hundreds of thousands who are watching as we support our efforts to bring the team back to life.

Without you who are here, without you who are watching us from the television screens, we would not have the strength to build our new home.

And now I ask and invite you to rise from your seats so that we may all swear together here in our temple

Honor and glory for AEK.

And let’s shout loudly – very loudly:

Long live AEK!

Long live AEK!

Long live AEK!

Many Thanks!”.