USD 2 billion invested into sports in the past decade

Istanbul, the city of history, culture and trade, has also proven itself as an eminent hub of sports within Europe thanks to the large scale investments in the last few years. Nominated as the 2012 Sports Capital of Europe, the ancient city of İstanbul has also hosted many sporting events including Formula 1, MotoGP, Champions League Final, UEFA League Final, World Basketball Championship, World Tennis Championship, Chess Olympiads, World Track and Field Championships, European Short Course Swimming Championship and Euroleague Final Four. These events helped enhance the venue stock of the city in terms of both sheer numbers and the average age of the facilities. These days,

sporting venues particularly in branches like soccer are edgier than even the European examples, with new, arena-like facilities added for track and field. These investments undertaken in the last ten years exceeded USD 2 billion in total cost, and new projects are already underway thanks to the efforts of sports clubs and municipal authorities.

ABDİ İPEKÇİ ARENA

Based in Zeytinburnu district of Istanbul, this sports facility is the country’s third largest by capacity (15,000) after Sinan Erdem and Ülker Sports Arena. Since its inception in 1979, the venue has undergone many renovations. Abdi İpekçi Arena hosted 2001 European and 2010 FIBA World Basketball Championships. It is also the home base for Men’s Basketball Super League Teams Anadolu Efes and Galatasaray Odeabank as well as Women’s Basketball Super League Team, Galatasaray. Apart from basketball, Arena also served as the venue for 2009 European Short Course Swimming Championship and 2004 Eurovision Song Contest.

SİNAN ERDEM

Built in 2010 with a USD 47 million investment, Sinan Erdem Sports Center is located in Bakırköy. It has capacity for 16,500 and 22,500 people for sports events and concerts/art activities respectively.

It is as such the largest sports facility in Turkey, and third largest in Europe. It also served as the Turkey Basketball League and Euroleague home base for Anadolu Efes and Fenerbahçe Ülker between the years 2010-2012. Facility was also the venue that hosted 2012 Short Course Swimming Championship.

ÜLKER SPORTS ARENA

Completed in 2012 with a USD 200 million investment, Ülker Sports Arena draws attention as a major sports complex in Turkey.

Fenerbahçe International Sports Complex Ülker Sports Arena is a multi purpose indoor sports facility in the Ataşehir district of İstanbul.

It can accommodate 15,000 spectators for basketball games, other indoor sports activities, concerts, stage shows, conferences and special events.

GARANTİ KOZA ARENA

Built as the largest tennis and sports academy in Turkey, Garanti Koza Arena accommodates 63 tennis courts, of which 28 is indoor; and an 8,000 people facility to host various sports events.

Announcing its grand opening as the proud host of “7th TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Cup” in 2013, KOZA World of Sports Arena responded to a great need of İstanbul and Turkey as a major tennis venue. Constructed by Garanti Koza, KOZA World of Sports Arena managed to claim its ranks as a world class sports facility. In addition to the 8,000 people capacity main court with retractable roof, the facility offers 2 clay courts increasing total spectator capacity to 9,500. The complex overall has 63 tennis courts and facilities for swimming, basketball, volleyball, and soccer.

ISTANBUL PARK

Istanbul Park is a world class racing track that served also as the home of Formula 1. With 2.215 million m2 total area, Istanbul Park has capacity for approximately 150,000 people.

4 SOCCER PITCHES

In addition to facilities for amateur sports, İstanbul also has 4 soccer pitches used for international tournaments and organizations: Atatürk Olympic Stadium, Vodafone Arena, Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium and Türk Telekom Arena, in total costing USD 400 million. These 4 stadiums are the home base for games of the top 3 three soccer clubs in Turkey. These facilities hosted many international organizations.

Istanbul Atatürk Olympic Stadium was built as part of national efforts in preparation for the Turkish Olympic bid. Serving track and field athletes and soccer teams, Atatürk Stadium was also the venue for the Champions League with 75,000 spectators.
The most recently built of the four stadiums is the Vodafone Arena. Construction was completed last year and the total cost of the project was TRL 150 million.
Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium, a great facility at international standards, hosted the UEFA Cup.
Galatasaray’s 50,000 people Türk Telekom Arena is one of the most important sporting facilities in İstanbul.

UPWARDS AND ONWARDS IN ANATOLIA

The investments in Anatolia are going on strong and will take Turkey to the European League Top 5 in terms of soccer stadium capacity. Projects currently under construction have total capacity for approximately 30,000 and expected to cost TRL 3.5 billion.