One of the largest stadiums under construction in Turkey gains pace after months of standstill. Future home of Bursaspor sees the cable roof slowly rise above ground.

Construction of the new Bursa municipal stadium was initially hoped to end this year, but that deadline is now out of reach. Still, the plan by Bursa municipal authorities is to play the first game in late Autumn, before delivering the entire arena. This too seems questionable, even if the concrete structure was done last year.

Recent weeks saw repeated delays and preparations for the big lift of steel cables of what will be the roof. The operation, highly monitored by specialists from several countries, began on Wednesday and now sees the cable net move upwards inch by inch.

Once resting in the final position above stands, the cables will be supplied with secondary structure and later with PTFE membrane. Altogether the roof will weigh some 7,000 tons and span across 80,000 sqm. It will also be connected with future cladding made of aluminum. The colour scheme is planned to match the green colour of Bursaspor and the pattern should resemble crocodile skin, also matching the nickname.

Just like the name: Timsah Arena (Crocodile Arena). In May it was announced the stadium will have a sponsor. While no company was named as naming rights owner so far, the name was announced to retain fan-preferred ‘Timsah Arena’ part, which will be preceded by sponsor name.