ATHENS – ATHENS – The Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) has issued a statement announcing the postponement of the construction of the Field of Life facilities in the Athens suburb of Nikaia, due to rising costs and budgetary constraints.

The full text follows:

The Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) is indefinitely postponing the construction of the Field of Life premises in Nikaia. This was a difficult decision for all of us at SNF; since 2019, we have invested a great deal of effort, committed significant financial resources, and worked together with the Field of Life team to make this project a reality.

The Field of Life project was initiated by SNF, in collaboration with Coach Panagiotis Giannakis and subsequently the nonprofit Field of Life. Its goal was to create opportunities for development and to inspire healthy lifestyles among children and teenagers in the Athens suburb of Nikaia and beyond.

SNF is currently focusing all its financial and human resources on the implementation of our Global Health Initiative (GHI), a challenging, multifaceted effort that includes more than 30 individual projects in Greece and in many other countries, aiming to provide accessible, quality health services to all. The cornerstone of this initiative is the construction of three new public hospitals across Greece in Komotini, Thessaloniki, and Sparta. As SNF Co-President Andreas Dracopoulos mentioned recently in his opening remarks at the 2023 SNF Nostos Conference, an update on the construction of the hospitals is coming soon.

Our financial resources are finite, and our human resources are sufficient for only so many long-term initiatives in an ever-changing global economic environment. Even before the launch of the tender process to select the contractor for the project, which was expected to result in a further increase in costs, the cost of creating Field of Life’s planned facilities in Nikaia had doubled from €10 million in the initial budget to €20 million.

This dramatic increase in project costs, combined with the focus of our financial and human resources on the GHI, has led us to indefinitely postpone the Field of Life project. We would like to thank Panagiotis Giannakis and his entire team for believing in and striving for this vision. In the months to come, the Field of Life team will continue to host activities in Nikaia, with support from SNF, which will wrap up before the end of the year.

SNF always strives to empower humanity and support those working to make life better for all. At this point in time, we believe that the critical ongoing projects for Greece’s health sector must take top priority and will create a positive ripple effect of benefits for children and their families nationwide.

Source: SNF