The stadiums in Turkey are reputable for having some of the best atmospheres in the world. If you haven’t experienced it yet, you will remember it for the rest of your life.
There are many popular football clubs in Turkey, several of which are based in Istanbul, the largest city in the country. Many of the biggest stadiums are located here.
Many new stadiums have been constructed in the past couple of decades, and some of these are pretty amazing feats of modern architecture.
Below, you’ll find a list of the biggest stadiums in Turkey. These are sports venues where the decibel volume often reaches extremely high levels.
The Atatürk Olympic Stadium is an enormous stadium in İkitelli, a neighborhood in the western part of Istanbul. It was constructed between 1999 and 2002 with the intention to serve as the bid for the Olympic Games in Istanbul in 2008. This didn’t happen because the Games were awarded to Beijing in China.
Just 3 years after the stadium was completed it hosted one of the most memorable Champions League Finals ever in 2005 between AC Milan and Liverpool FC. Liverpool managed to win after being 3-0 behind at halftime. The stadium is currently used for a wide variety of events and also serves as the home of the Turkish football club Fatih Karagümrük.
Atatürk Olympic Stadium / Wiki Commons
2. Nef Stadium
Location: Istanbul
Capacity: 52,280
Nef Stadium is the common name of another huge stadium in Turkey called the “Ali Sami Yen Spor Kompleksi – Nef Stadyumu.” It’s the home stadium of the popular Istanbul-based football club Galatasaray and is located in the Sarıyer district in the northern part of the city.
The stadium was completed between 2007 and 2011 and cost approximately $250 million to build. The stadium brought a lot of luck for its owner because Galatasary won the Turkish league in the first year. The amazing fans that create an incredible atmosphere definitely help to push the players to another level.
Nef Stadium / 1886kusagi / Wiki Commons
3. İzmir Atatürk Stadium
Location: Izmir
Capacity: 51,295
The İzmir Atatürk Stadium is one of the older stadiums in Turkey because it was completed between 1968 and 1971. Although it looks a bit outdated, it was modified and transformed into an all-seater stadium in 2005, a project that reduced the capacity to just over 51,000 spectators.
Upon completion, the stadium could hold up to 70,000 people. It was named after the Turkish statesman Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1881-1938), the founding father of the Turkish Republic. The stadium is shared by the two main football clubs in the Turkish port city Izmir, Altay S.K. and Karşıyaka S.K.
İzmir Atatürk Stadium / Wiki Commons
4. Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium
Location: Istanbul
Capacity: 47.834
Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium is officially known as the “Ülker Stadyumu Fenerbahçe Şükrü Saracoğlu Spor Kompleksi” and is the home venue of another popular Turkish football club, Fenerbahçe SK. It’s located in the Kadıköy district of Istanbul which is situated in the southern part of the Asian side of the city.
The stadium first opened its doors in the year 1908 and has been renovated and expanded several times throughout its history. The final renovation project was completed in 2006 and it hosted the final version of the UEFA Cup Final in 2009 (Shakhtar Donetsk vs Werder Bremen 2-1) before it became the UEFA Europa League.
Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium / Anl55400 / Wiki Commons
5. Timsah Park
Location: Bursa
Capacity: 43,761
Timsah Park is officially known as the “Bitci Timsah Park” and is another fascinating stadium in Turkey located in Bursa. This is a city located near the southeastern corner of the Sea of Marmara, not too far south of Istanbul in northwestern Turkey.
The name of the stadium translates to “Crocodile Stadium.” This is because the exterior of this arena resembles the mouth of a crocodile. The stadium was constructed between 2011 and 2015 and is the home venue of the local football club Bursaspor.
Timsah Park in Bursa / Wiki Commons
6. Vodafone Park
Location: Istanbul
Capacity: 42,590
Vodafone Park is another amazing relatively new multi-purpose stadium. It’s the home of the popular Turkish football club Beşiktaş JK and is located in the neighborhood with the same name just north of the historical heart of Istanbul in the European part of the city.
The ultra-modern sports arena replaced the old stadium of the club called the BJK İnönü Stadium which could seat 32,145 spectators. Beşiktaş has some of the noisiest fans in the world so witnessing a game in this stadium is definitely an experience of a lifetime!
Vodafone Park / Erisim / Wiki Commons
7. Konya Metropolitan Municipality Stadium
Location: Konya
Capacity: 42,000
The Konya Metropolitan Municipality Stadium is a stadium in Konya, a historic city in central Turkey south of Ankara. The stadium was constructed between 2012 and 2014 and is mainly used for football matches of the local football club Konyaspor.
The stadium meets all the requirements of the UEFA and is therefore also sometimes used by the Turkish National team. The modern stadium replaced the outdated Konya Atatürk Stadium which had been used by the football club since the 1950s and which held 22,559 people.
Konya Metropolitan Municipality Stadium / Pragdon / Wiki Commons
8. Medical Park Stadium
Location: Trabzon
Capacity: 40,782
Medical Park Stadium is officially known as the “Şenol Güneş Spor Kompleksi Medical Park Stadyumu.” It’s located in the Turkish city of Trabzon which is situated on the Black Sea coast in the northeastern part of the country.
The stadium is part of a large sports complex near the coast and is the home venue of local football club Trabzonspor. It was constructed between 2013 and 2016 and replaced the outdated Hüseyin Avni Aker Stadium, a stadium completed in 1951 that could hold 24,169 people.
Medical Park Stadium / Myrat / Wiki Commons
9. Gaziantep Stadium
Location: Gaziantep
Capacity: 35,574
Gaziantep Stadium is officially known as the Kalyon Stadium. This fairly new football arena was completed between 2013 and 2017 in the Turkish city of Gaziantep. It’s situated in the northern part of this large city in the utmost southern part of southeastern Turkey.
The stadium is the home of the local football club Gaziantep F.K. and the interior of the stadium looks pretty amazing. The exterior is equally impressive because it was covered with mosaics that resemble those used in the ancient Greek city of Zeugma which was located here.
Gaziantep Stadium / Wiki Commons
10. Kocaeli Stadium
Location: İzmit
Capacity: 34,712
Kocaeli Stadium is also sometimes referred to as the İzmit Stadium, a reference to the city of İzmit where it’s located. This city is located just east of Istanbul in the Kocaeli province of central Turkey. It was established around the Gulf of İzmit which is part of the Sea of Marmara.
It’s one of the newest additions to this amazing list of famous stadiums in Turkey as it was completed between 2014 and 2018. The stadium is mainly used by the local football club Kocaelispor, a club that used to play at the highest level but that has recently dropped tothe third tier of the Turkish football league system.
