Ali Sami Yen Stadium

Galatasaray needs a new stadium

Football was first played in Istanbul by some British players in a field known as Papazın Çayırı (Priest’s Field) in the area that is now the site of Fenerbahçe's Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium. With the opening of the Taksim Stadı in 1921, which was located inside the courtyard of the Ottoman era Taksim Artillery Barracks (Taksim Topçu Kışlası) built by Sultan Abdülmecid I in the 1840s; the surrounding walls of which were transformed into tribunes. This new stadium that became the new football headquarters. In the urban development of 1939, the military barracks in which the Taksim Stadium was located was demolished in 1940. The stadium was thus lost. In this period, Fenerbahçe bought the land encompassing Papazın Çayırı and built the Fenerbahçe Stadium, while the Beşiktaş Club moved into the Şeref Stadı, located in the area where today’s Çırağan Palace stands.

It was Galatasaray that experienced the biggest problem with the use of a stadium in that period. The first steps to overcome this problem were taken in the initial years of the 1930s. The first initiative to acquire a plot of land for Galatasaray was in 1933, when the then president of the club Ali Haydar Barşal showed an interest in a mulberry orchard in Mecidiyeköy.

From Taksim to Mecidiyeköy

In the period 1933-35, discussions held with the government resulted in the allocation of a plot of land outside of the city limits in Mecidiye Köyü (Mecidiye Village) for a stadium to be built for Galatasaray. Excavations for the construction began in 1936. The President of the Turkish Sports Organization at the time, Adnan Menderes, provided financial assistance for the project. The efforts were left in the excavation stage however. In 1940, the matter of the stadium came up again under the presidency of Tevfik Ali Çınar.

The same plot of land was leased to Galatasaray for a term of 30 years at a symbolical yearly rental fee of 1 lira. Galatasaray thus acquired the right to the use of the land. In leasing the land, Galatasaray committed to building a modern stadium as well as a bicycle velodrome. The construction could not start, however, due to limited funds and the general atmosphere of the war years. In 1943, Osman Dardağan led an initiative to build a modest stadium that would answer the immediate need.

Mecidiyeköy Stadi

In the atmosphere of war, only a small open tribune was allowed in the stadium, which was set on a field of earth and inaugurated under the presidency of Muslihittin Peykoğlu in 1945. Its distance from the city center in those days, however, its inaccessibility by public transportation, and the rough winds that characterized the district were factors that contributed to a long period in which the stadium lay idle and football games never took place. When the İnönü Stadium in the center of the city was opened in that period, Galatasaray abandoned the stadium building project in Mecidiyeköy, putting the project aside before fruition. In 1955, 30 more years were added to the right of utilization agreement, which at the time had 22 years to go, extending the terms until 2007.

When the club failed to undertake the building of the Stadium, the project was taken on by the Physical Education General Directorate. The construction started in 1959. In 1961, during the presidency of Refik Selimoğlu, a new agreement was signed with the Physical Education General Directorate whereby the utilization rights of the newly completed stadium were explicitly given to Galatasaray.

Ali Sami Yen Stadi / expansion

Ali Sami Yen Stadi was inaugurated on December 20, 1964, with a friendly game between Turkey and Bulgaria. Unfortunately, tragedy struck during the opening match: in one of the stands many people fell onto the first floor, which caused numerous injuries, but luckily none of them were fatal. Spotlights were added to the stadium in 1965, and night games began to be played. Despite this, however, not many night games were played. At the beginning of the 1970s, the stadium was abandoned for another period during which the İnönü Stadium began to be used again. In the 70s, the stadium was mostly used by Galatasaray for training sessions. In those years, it remained in a squalid state of neglect. In 1981, grass was planted on the field and the stadium was opened again. The lighting system was renewed in 1993, after which night games began to be played once more. In the same year, the system of combined tickets was initiated in Turkey at Ali Sami Yen Stadı. Also in the same year, the stadium was furnished with seats to replace the old benches. Standing room at the stadium was thus reduced from a 35,000 seating capacity to 22,000.

New stadium project

1997, The Galatasaray administration assigned a Canadian architectural firm the job of designing Turkey’s first multi-function, modern stadium to be built in place of Ali Sami Yen Stadı, which was planned to be torn down. The new stadium project was launched in 1998 and it attracted wide interest. During the promotion of the modern loge system, the entire loge section was sold at a symbolical fee.

The search began for funds to finance the construction of the new stadium. Because of the club’s difficult financial situation at the time, the needed funds could not be found. Over the period of 2001-2002, a revision was made in the project with an eye toward reducing the amount needed for financing but this time, although costs were brought down, the economic crisis of 2001 stood in the way of overcoming the financial issue. In the 2003 -2004 season, the old project came up again but was abandoned in favor of building a new and modern stadium. Again, financing needs could not be met.

Because Mecidiyeköy was now a part of the city center, state authorities objected to the expansion of the stadium in this district. A new piece of land was suggested to Galatasaray as an alternative. The search for financing for the new stadium that would be built on this new plot continued over the period 2004-2007.

Renovation and new Eski Açık stand

After a general renovation that took place in the 2004-2005 season, the club returned to Ali Sami Yen. Following the earthquake of 1999, the old Open Tribune was demolished and replaced in the 2005-2006 season for reasons of safety. In 2007, discussions with state authorities on the construction of a new Galatasaray stadium in Aslantepe yielded positive results. It was decided that the new stadium to be built within two years on the new plot would be transferred to Galatasaray in return for the club's handing over the property on which Ali Sami Yen stood.

The final end

At the end of 2007, ten years after the initial announcement of the project in 1997, the groundbreaking for the new stadium was carried out (December 13, 2007) at a ceremony attended by state officials. The old project was put aside and a new project was contracted to Mete Arat in Germany.

In 2008, Galatasaray’s last year at Ali Sami Yen, the Lower Closed Tribune was renovated in line with UEFA standards. The construction of the new stadium, the Türk Telekom Arena, gained speed when the contracting company was changed in 2009. It was announced that the official opening of the new stadium would take place on January 15, 2010. The new stadium was inaugurated on January 15, 2011.