| Atatürk Olympic Stadium | ||
| ||
| Full name | Atatürk Olimpiyat Stadyumu | |
| Owners | Republic of Turkey | |
| Location | Başakşehir, Istanbul, Turkey | |
| Broke ground | 28 November 1997 | |
| Built | 1997–2002 | |
| Opened | 31 July 2002 | |
| Tenants | İstanbul BB (2007–2014) Galatasaray S.K. (2003–2004) Turkey national football team Beşiktaş J.K. (2013–present) | |
| Capacity | 80,597 (2002–2005) 76,092 (2005–present) | |
| Field dimensions | 105 x 68 m | |
| Highest attendance | 76,127 (Beşiktaş–Galatasaray, 23 Sep 2013) | |
Atatürk Olympic Stadium located in İkitelli, a district in the western outskirts of Istanbul, is the largest-capacity stadium of Turkey. The stadium is named after Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder and first President of the Republic of Turkey. Its construction began in 1999 and was completed in 2002. It was built for Turkey's failed bid for the 2008 Olympic Games that were ultimately awarded to Beijing. It cost about 140 million USD.
With its 76,092 (all-seater) capacity and Olympic size, it was granted the "5-star sports complex" title by the UEFA in 2004, enabling it to host the finals of UEFA events. The 2005 UEFA Champions League Final between Milan and Liverpool was played at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium on 25 May 2005. The stadium is also certified by the IAAF and IOC as a first-class venue for track and field, and has hosted several European athletic competitions.
Galatasaray played its home games at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium during the 2003–2004 football season, due to the renovation of their own venue, the Ali Sami Yen Stadium, and this was criticized by other teams. Galatasaray eventually returned to Ali Sami Yen for the 2004–2005 season, but played 2006–2007 UEFA Champions League group stage matches at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium. Sivasspor also played some of its Süper Lig home games at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium due to the bad weather conditions in their original hometown stadium. Istanbul BB, also of the Süper Lig, play all their home games in the venue. Beşiktaş will use the arena to play their home games for the 2014-15 season, with their reasoning being the same as Galatasary's, with their own ground, the Vodafone Arena, scheduled to undergo renovation.
External links[]
| Süper Lig 2023–24 stadiums |
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Antalya Stadium · Atatürk Olympic Stadium · Başakşehir Fatih Terim Stadium · Beşiktaş Stadium · City of Rize Stadium · Eryaman Stadium · Esenyurt Necmi Kadıoğlu Stadium · Gaziantep Stadium · Kadir Has Stadium · Kırbıyık Holding Stadium · Konya Metropolitan Municipality Stadium · New Adana Stadium · New Hatay Stadium · New Sivas 4 Eylül Stadium · Pendik Stadium · Rams Park · Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Stadium · Samsun Stadium · Şenol Güneş Sports Complex · Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium |