Türk Telekom Arena

Türk Telekom Arena
Ali Sami Yen Spor Kompleksi (during UEFA-organised games)
Full name	Ali Sami Yen Spor Kompleksi Türk Telekom Arena
Location	Şişli, Istanbul, Turkey
Coordinates	41°6′10.33″N 28°59′25.51″E
Broke ground	13 December 2007
Built	2007-2011
Opened	15 January 2011 (2011-01-15)
Owner	Galatasaray S.K.
Operator	Anschutz Entertainment Group AEG Live
Surface	Grass
Construction cost	$ 250 million
Architect	'asp' architekten Stuttgart
Capacity	52,652 (all seater) 70,000 (concerts)
Executive Suites	213 (157 built) (29 u/c) (27 proposed)
Record attendance	51,393 (Galatasaray SK-Fenerbahçe SK, 18 March 2011)
Field dimensions	105m x 68m
Website	www.turktelekomarena.com.tr

Ali Sami Yen Spor Kompleksi - Türk Telekom Arena is a new multi-purpose stadium in the Şişli district of Istanbul, Turkey. It is the new home ground for Galatasaray S.K., replacing the old Ali Sami Yen Stadium. The stadium has an all seated capacity of 52,652. On March 18, 2011, it recorded 131.76 decibels which is considered as being a world record as 'loudest crowd roar at a sport stadium' for Guinness World Records. In Turkey, Türk Telekom Arena is the first stadium that meets the UEFA Euro 2016 stadium requirements. Stadium Business Awards has announced its nominees for Venue of the Year and New Venue as part of the Stadium Business Awards. Türk Telekom Arena, home of Galatasaray, is one of six nominees for the award.

Facts

Dimensions

• Stadium: 195,000 m² - 228m x 190m x 70m
• Playing level: 120 m x 83 m
• Gross grass area: 111 m x 72 m
• Playing field: 105 m x 68 m

Capacity

• West Stand: 10,713
  • 1st tier: 5,525
  • 1st suit level: 399
  • 2nd suit level: 266
  • 2nd tier: 4,523

• East Stand: 11,425
  • 1st tier: 5,751
  • 1st suit level: 399
  • 2nd suit level: 266
  • 2nd tier: 5,009

• South Stand: 15,246
  • 1st tier: 8,209
  • 1st suit level: (no suites existing)
  • 2nd suit level: 484
  • 2nd tier: 6,553

• North Stand: 15,268
  • 1st tier: 8,028
  • 1st suit level: (no suites existing)
  • 2nd suit level: 622
  • 2nd tier: 6,618

Stands

• 1st Tier: 19.93° - 29.54° (average 23.96°)
• 2nd Tier: 34.61° - 35.474° (average 35.10°)

• Distance West/East stand to the pitch: 6.2 m
• Distance North/South stand to the pitch: 8.2 m

• First row is 20cm above pitch level

• Highest row at West/East stand: 36.07 m
• Highest row at North/South: 34.93 m

• 1st tier: 36 rows
• Suit balcony: 3 rows
• 2nd tier: 20-27 rows

Construction

• Total concrete used during stadium construction: 190,000 m³
• Total steel used during stadium construction: 35,000 tonnes
• Total steel used for the roof: 5,500 tonnes

Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe

Name

The naming rights to the stadium have been sold to Turk Telekom for a period of 10 years for US$10.25 million a year. The stadium has officially replaced the current Ali Sami Yen Stadium at the middle of the 2010-2011 Super Lig season, under the name of Türk Telekom Arena. North tribune' s name of this stadium were sold to Pegasus Airlines for €4 million a year. The naming rights of the first tier of the east tribune of Turk Telekom Arena were also sold to Ülker for $2 million a year and will be named as Ülker Family Tribune. All 157 suites' naming rights were sold to Denizbank for 3 years.

Transportation

Aslanlı Yol

Türk Telekom Arena is served by a number of bus routes and Seyrantepe Metro station. There are four 4-story parking garages with 3,225 (3,025 closed and 200 open) parking places. In addition, there are also 28 places available for buses at the west entrance.

Surroundings

From the Seyrantepe Metro Station just east of the arena, visitors approach the stadium through a road called Aslanlı Yol was designed to disentangle and guide them to the entrance.

Concerts

Bon Jovi Concert, July 2011

The stadium can also be turned into a concert arena with a capacity for over 70,000 people. The first band to play at Türk Telekom Arena was Bon Jovi on 8 July 2011, which attracted a sell-out crowd. The second confirmed singer at the Arena will be Madonna, who will perform on 7 June 2012.

GS Bonus Card

GS Bonus Card is the stadium card of Galatasaray SK which can also be used as a credit card. Unified RFID-cards are used as season tickets at Türk Telekom Arena. The card can be used for all services at the stadium.

History

Exterior view

In recent years, numerous proposals had been put forward to demolish the current stadium and build a new, larger one on the same location, but this was impossible due to the lack of space. Finally, the club's stadium, Ali Sami Yen Stadium, is now going to be replaced with a new stadium near Maslak financial district. The former name of the district, Seyrantepe, has been changed to Aslantepe (Lion Hill) after Galatasaray purchased the land; Aslan (Lion) being Galatasaray's symbol. The idea is to realize a stadium on the model of the Veltins Arena in Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The stadium will feature a world-class retractable roof – the first of its kind in Turkey. The design team headed by 'asp' Architekten Stuttgart combines the engineering expertise of the renowned firms Obermeyer Planen+Beraten (Munich), Schlaich – Bergermann and Partner (Stuttgart) and Yüksel Proje (Ankara).

TT Arena view

Auction process

Galatasaray have been in cooperation with TOKİ (one of the biggest construction organizations of Turkey, budgeted by the Turkish Government).

Among the 4 companies that tendered their proposals, the best offer was put forward by the Eren Talu Architecture – ALKE Partnership. The contract for the tender held for the construction of Galatasaray's new stadium was signed between TOKİ and Eren Talu-ALKE consortium on 23 October 2007.

Groundbreaking ceremony

As of 13 December 2007, the construction has officially started after a glitzy reception where the club's Board, some players, the minister of sports for Turkey and many other ministers attended. In the ceremony, then President Özhan Canaydın stated, in summary, the following: "The Turkish World of Sports will gain another big facility with the Ali Sami Yen Sports Complex and we've gathered here to celebrate its groundbreaking ceremony. This work, which will be a value add to Istanbul and Turkey along with Turkish Sports, will also serve as an honorable monument that will signify the advanced position Turkish Sports has achieved and the phases it has passed through."

Partnership

Once the Eren Talu-ALKE consortium had won the tender for the stadium project, they proceeded to find a foreign technical partner with previous experience in sports-construction related projects. They were introduced to the Abu Dhabi Group and Al Zarooni Group, both headquartered in the UAE. Abu Dhabi Group (also known as Dhabi Group) and the Al Zarooni Group are investors in the gigantic 5.5 million sq.m. Dubai Sports City project that is currently under construction in Dubai. Abu Dhabi Group is also the largest foreign investor group in Pakistan and is building the tallest building in South Asia, the Mubarak Center, in Lahore, Pakistan. The Chairman of Abu Dhabi Group is His Highness Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan, who is also the Federal Minister for Higher Education & Scientific Research of the UAE and a very important member of Abu Dhabi's Ruling Family. The Dhabi-Zarooni consortium acquired 51% of the Eren Talu-ALKE consortium’s shares to co-invest a total of $650 million with them in the Aslantepe (New Stadium) and Mecidiyeköy (Old Stadium) projects.

Stating that a total amount of $650 million will be invested for the entire project, Eren Talu said, "$170 million of this amount will be spent for the stadium, in addition to $180 million which is the guaranteed TOKİ share, a $50 million additional TOKİ share and the remaining $250 million+ to be invested in the mixed-use development project intended in Mecidiyeköy". Talu added that TOKİ's participation in the project provides great advantage for the partnership and continued, “our partners had confidence in the public benefit of the project and decided to join within a short period of just 2 months." Talu said they have already spent $37 million so far in order to construct up to the current level of the stadium. Stating that the stadium is to be delivered on time on 29 October 2010, Talu said, “We are casting 1,500 cu.m. of concrete every day. We have driven 4,500 meters of piles into the ground. A labour force of above 350 workers is busy at the construction site 24 hours a day. The stadium is going to be so strong that it may even be used as a catastrophe relief center if required."

Talu said the project being contemplated on the land in Mecidiyeköy in lieu of the old Ali Sami Yen Stadium will be initiated in June 2009, and added, “the mixed-use development project that we are going to build on land measuring 34,600 sq.m. will include apartments, a large shopping center, offices and a 5-star hotel. A total of $650 million will be invested in these two projects, and in return, we expect an income of about $1.3 billion when the Mecidiyeköy mixed-use complex is completed. Therefore, this is a highly profitable venture."

The total stadium construction is expected to cost around US$191 million, not including the US$145+ million which will be spend on upgrading the nearby infrastructure.

The construction of this arena stopped twice a time. When Talu had financial problems once again, TOKİ cancelled the process in July 2009. After termination of TOKİ-Talu agreement, TOKİ announced a new auction. Varyap-Uzunlar consortium won the auction and construction restarted in September 2009. Galatasaray and TOKİ had an agreement that the stadium would be opened without rectractable roofs which will be installed at the end of the season.

Site and layout

A panorama

Galatasaray - Fenerbahçe 3-1, 7 December 2011

Galatasaray - Beşiktaş 3-2, 26 February 2012

The contract of the tender was realized by TOKİ and came to be known as the "Aslantepe Tender", covering the construction of a multi-purpose sports complex with 52,695 spectator capacity on Aslantepe (formerly known as Seyrantepe) premises in return for building "Urban Social Infrastructure Areas" on 34.640 sq meters of land on which the present Ali Sami Yen Stadium is located.

There is a set period of 720 days for the construction of the stadium that will be built on the Aslantepe (formerly known as Seyrantepe) premises. The box count is 213. Part of the catering areas Turk Telekom Arena consists of, is a VIP lounge room, VIP Market Area, Premium Food Court, Galatasaray Museum, Galatasaray Mega Store, 11 Galataray Store and a VIP restaurant. The modern stadium, contains 5 top and 4 underground levels.

External links

• (English) Club information on new stadium
• (Turkish) Türk Telekom Arena Official WebSite
• Türk Telekom Arena on Wikimapia
• Design of stadium