Athens’ local government has approved construction of a new stadium for Greek football team Panathinaikos, located in Votanikos in the Greek capital’s south west.

Designed by Greece’s A&S Architects, the stadium will contain 40,000 seats and will take a circular form, aiming to reduce its scale and appear as a “sculpture in the landscape” when viewed from afar.

The stadium will be part of a larger redevelopment effort in Votanikos, which will contain a park, entertainment areas and shops.

Athens’ city government has also granted the demolition license for Panathinaikos’ old Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium, according to Greek newspaper Kathimerini, which has a 16,000 capacity but managed to accommodate up to 29,000 fans.

Earlier this year, €115m in funding was approved by Greece’s interior ministry, according to the Stadium Business.

The City of Athens is quoted as saying the development is “the largest and most complex local government project ever undertaken in our country”.