It also hosted several events of the 1991 Mediterranean Games and the 1997 World Championships in Athletics, sought in order to prove that it was capable of hosting major sporting events after the failure of Athens to win the 1996 Summer Olympics but successfully hosting the 2004 Summer Olympics.
Det var også vært for flere konkurrencer under Middelhavslegene 1991 og VM i atletik 1997, hvilket var med til at bevise, at det egnede sig til afholdelse af større sportsbegivenheder, efter at det ikke lykkedes Athen at blive valgt som arrangør af OL i 1996.