With Athens 2004 under pressure to show progress on venue construction the shell of a building in the run-down suburb of Nikea is providing the first concrete answer to critics.
IOC president Jacques Rogge told Athens organisers last year that he wanted to see "buildings coming out of the ground" and the weightlifting stadium is doing just that.
A purpose-built centre perched atop a hill with views out to sea and across to the acropolis has been located in one of the poorest neighbourhoods of the capital.
IOC tour
IOC coordinating committee members toured the site in early April, expressing satisfaction at progress on one of the key venues.
Contractors are encouraged by early progress and believe their site could be among the first to be ready from the venues built from scratch.
"We have inspectors here every week and they are satisfied with progress," said project manager Petros Sirakos.
The arena will play host to some of Greece's most popular athletes with treble gold medallist Pyrros Dimas set to defend his title on home soil in two years.
Uphill challenge
However, contractors face an uphill challenge to deliver the 4,000-seater stadium in time for the summer 2003 deadline.
In an effort to meet strict deadlines workers are pulling 12-hour shifts, six and sometimes seven days a week but strikes have stopped work on three occasions already.
Nikea was no an obvious choice for the construction which will act as a new home to the Greek weightlifting federation.
Dense development around the stadium means new access roads will be vital to get spectators into the complex.
"Everyone asks why this site was chosen," admitted government advisor to the project Bill Pantazaras.
Upgrading the area
"We think that the venue can have a positive impact local environment."
Contractors insist that lessons have been learnt from Sydney and they have avoided constructing mass-capacity stadia that will not be viable after 2004.
The stadium is pencilled in for cultural and community events as well as weightlifting, while a floodlit football pitch will be laid behind the main building.
