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Most of the sports facilities provided by the state to municipalities are Illegal, do not meet safety and access requirements and are likely to be closed if they do not adapt to the new legislation.

Some of the sports centres have already closed down because they do not have building permits and do not meet the necessary conditions, which has lead to great inconvenience for hundreds of clubs and thousands of children and adults who are forced  to abandon their sporting activities.

The problem affects mainly sports halls and sports grounds belonging to the General Secretariat of Sports, whose management has been passed to the municipalities. Most were built without building permits, and some were built on land designated for other purposes. Others have undergone additional renovations such as open air swimming pools being converted without surveys into indoor pools.

Although two deadline extensions were given for adapting municipal sports centres to the new requirements, municipalities have failed to do so and as a result halls and sports grounds are illegal as of September 1.

A few days ago a ministerial decision was signed giving a third extension of the deadline - up to February 8, 2015.

Mayors say that sports facilities that were transferred to them were built without building permits and adherence to technical regulations. According to the mayor of Pallini, who sent a letter to the Prime Minister, today the state rejects the technical guidelines which it itself had once applied, as insufficient, and it calls for the municipalities to adapt to new requirements with their own funds. In addition, municipalities must regularize illegal buildings given to them without building plans.

If, by the expiration of the deadline, sports centres are not adapted they will be closed, as by law no competition or sports activities may be carried out in facilities without a valid permit. The penalty can be up to three months imprisonment as well as a fine of at least € 50,000 for the owner who does not have such permission, but who allows sports activities to be carried out in the facility.

Over the last four months the three sports centres in Chalandri municipality have been closed down as none of them has a licence or meets security and access criteria.

The case of the Nikos Perkizas sports centre on Pendelli Avenue., which until recently was visited by 2,500 people a day, is typical. The building was constructed 25 years ago, it never had a building permit and only minimum safety rules had been complied with, putting at risk the health of thousands of its users. Today it is closed, because according to the mayor of Chalandri, Simos Roussos, the retiring municipal government decided last May to close all three sports grounds, until they are licensed under the new rules.

The external facilities (athletics track, basketball, volleyball and soccer playing areas) are not functioning either, and the indoor swimming pool has been sealed.

As the mayor of Chalandri explained for Ethnos newspaper, the pool was originally planned as outdoor, but a few years ago a roof was added without the necessary ventilation requirements. As a result various problems have arisen in the pool due to moisture. The safety requirements have not been met either. For example, there is a fire hose that is not connected to the water system and additional access for people with disabilities has not been provided.

Roussos says: "We cannot open sports facilities if they are not safe. But the question is how to obtain building permits". In his opinion, the Papadakis hall is illegal, built on land owned jointly by the municipality and the organisation for school buildings, which was designated for building a school. This example is indicative, because if its status is not settled, no permit can be obtained.

There are also problems with sports centres in Pallini – out of the 12 existing ones, 5 are not licensed and are not functioning.

"We started the licensing procedure in 2012. Those that were state owned have no construction permits", say employees from the municipality, adding that they have decided to close those that are illegal on 1^st September.