- Atatürk Olympic Stadium
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Atatürk Olympic Stadium 
Location Istanbul, Turkey Opened 31 July 2002 Renovated 2005 Owner Republic of Turkey Surface Grass Construction cost €150 million Architect Michel Macary
Aymeric ZublenaCapacity 76,092 Executive Suites 34 Record attendance 79,414 (Galatasaray SK-Olympiakos CFP) Field dimensions 105 x 68 m Tenants Istanbul BB
Turkey national football team
Interior view of Atatürk Olympic Stadium
Interior view of Atatürk Olympic StadiumAtatürk Olympic Stadium (Turkish: Atatürk Olimpiyat Stadı) located in İkitelli, a district in the western outskirts of Istanbul, is the largest-capacity stadium of Turkey. The stadium takes its name from Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. 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 €350 million.
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 A.C. Milan and Liverpool F.C. was played on May 25, 2005, at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium. 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 SK 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 some of its 2006–2007 UEFA Champions League games 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.
Contents
Renovation
2005 UEFA Champions League Final
From 2002 to 2005 the stadium had a capacity of 80,597 (all-seater). This was later reduced to 76,092 (all-seater) by removing the seats from where it was not possible to see the entire pitch, prior to the 2005 UEFA Champions League Final game between AC Milan and Liverpool FC, which was played on May 25, 2005.
UEFA Euro 2016 plans
To meet all requirements of the UEFA for being able to organize the Euro 2016 football championship, the authorities will undertake major reconstruction works on this stadium starting from early 2011. Increasing the stadium's capacity will enable over 90,000 spectators to enjoy the matches of the UEFA Euro 2016 in what will become the world's largest stadium with every seat under cover. To increase the net and gross capacity to 81,106 and 90,115 respectively, the pitch will be lowered by 2.15 metres. In order to provide better convenience for the VIP guests and the media, all existing hospitality areas at levels 3 and 4 will be extended. Furthermore, 12 new boxes will be added to the west stand and 32 to the east stand in order to add to the current number of 36 skyboxes; this will provide a total of 80 skyboxes after the reconstruction.[1]
Concerts
U2 360° Tour
On September 6, 2010, the renowned Irish rock band U2 gave a concert at the stadium which reportedly attracted over 55,000 fans, as a part of their U2 360° Tour, the opening act of which was performed by the group Snow Patrol.[2]
Records
Attendance Records Rank Attendance Date Game 1 79,414 31 July 2002 Galatasaray SK – Olympiacos CFP 2 71,334 27 September 2003 Galatasaray SK – Fenerbahçe SK 3 71,230 12 September 2006 Galatasaray SK – FC Girondins de Bordeaux 4 70,024 25 May 2005 AC Milan – Liverpool FC 5 66,300 30 August 2003 Galatasaray SK – PFC CSKA 6 62,620 9 August 2003 Galatasaray SK – Diyarbakırspor 7 58,617 30 September 2003 Galatasaray SK – Real Sociedad 8 51,714 18 October 2006 Galatasaray SK – PSV Eindhoven 9 47,682 4 April 2004 Galatasaray SK – Beşiktaş J.K 10 41,125 21 October 2003 Galatasaray SK – Olympiacos CFP References
External links
- Atatürk Olympic Stadium – Official (Turkish)(English)(German)
- Satellite Photo of Atatürk Olympic Stadium
- Atatürk Olympic Stadium Photographs
- Official site for EURO 2016 Bid Turkey (Turkish) (English)
- Official site for EURO 2016 Bid Turkey – Olympic Stadium Istanbul
Preceded by
Arena AufSchalke
GelsenkirchenUEFA Champions League
Final Venue
2005Succeeded by
Stade de France
St-DenisCoordinates: 41°04′28.10″N 28°45′56.53″E / 41.074472°N 28.7657028°E
Süper Lig Venues 2010–11 - • Ankara 19 Mayıs Stadium • Atatürk Olympic Stadium • BJK İnönü Stadium • Bursa Atatürk Stadium • Buca Arena • Eskişehir Atatürk Stadium • Gaziantep Kamil Ocak Stadium • Hüseyin Avni Aker Stadium • Kadir Has Stadium • Konya Atatürk Stadium • Manisa 19 Mayıs Stadium • Mardan Sports Complex • Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Stadium • Sivas 4 Eylül Stadium • Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium • Türk Telekom Arena • Yenişehir Stadium
Categories:- Football venues in Turkey
- Sports venues in Istanbul
- National stadiums
- Event venues established in 2002
- Istanbul Büyükşehir Belediyespor
- Olympic stadiums
- Music venues in Istanbul
- Süper Lig venues
- Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
- Architecture in Turkey
- 2002 establishments in Turkey
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