Alsancak Stadyumu – historical stadium description

What does the Greek Panionios have in common with a certain stadium in Izmir?

When there was no stadium, a pitch already existed on the same site, serving since the second decade of the 20th century the Panionios club, associated with the Greek community of Izmir (then Smyrna). September 1922 saw the recapture of the city by Turkish troops, which de facto ended the Greek-Turkish war that had lasted since 1919. Almost simultaneously, there was also repression and a major fire that engulfed Greek and Armenian neighborhoods.

As a result of these events, Smyrna's Greek community, hitherto a slight majority of the city's population, evacuated to Greece. A large proportion of the refugees moved near Athens, where they created a new town called Nea Smyrni (today it is part of the capital agglomeration). Nea Smyrni also became the new home of Panionios, which still operates there today, and the club's footballers play at the Stadio Nea Smyrni, opened in 1939.

Where was the first goal in Turkish league history scored?

Back to Izmir, the Alsancak Stadium, opened in 1929, was built on the site of the former Panionios pitch. The facility is associated as the home of clubs Altay SK and Altınordu FK, but it has also served many other football teams over the years, with İzmirspor, Göztepe SK and Karşıyaka SK among others playing there.

On February 21, 1959, a match between İzmirspor and Beykoz was played at the stadium (2–1). It was one of the three matches played simultaneously to inaugurate the first round of the newly established Turkish football league. In the 11th minute of the game, home team player Özcan Altuğ scored the first goal, which also became the first goal in the history of the Turkish league.

The stadium has also hosted European cup matches (including Göztepe SK's matches in the 1968/69 Fairs Towns Cup, when Göztepe reached the semi-finals), as well as Turkish Cup final matches. Turkey's first national team also played at the arena once, on March 13, 1968 in a friendly match against Tunisia (0–0). The stadium has also hosted music concerts.

Where did Trabzonspor secure Turkey's first championship in 1976?

Trabzonspor also has a history in the Alsancak Stadium, as on 23 May 1976, after a goalless draw in an away game against Göztepe SK, the club won its first ever national championship at this venue, becoming the first team outside Istanbul to do so.

In addition, on November 16, 1999, Turkey's under-21 national team won their first-ever promotion to the European Championships at this venue, after a victory over Poland in a return play-off game.

What was the last game at the old Alsancak Stadium like?

On 27 May 2014, the last match was played at the stadium. It was a rematch of the semi-final match of the bargaining round for promotion to the 1st Lig (second tier of the competition) between the teams of Göztepe SK and Hatayspor.

The rematch had a dramatic course. In the first match Hatayspor won 2–0, which put them in a much better position. In addition, the visiting team took the lead in the first half of the rematch and held it for a long time. Three goals scored by the hosts in the 78th, 83rd and 90th minutes, respectively, gave hope to the fans, who filled the stadium to the brim, to reverse the fate of the two-match series. However, fierce attacks at the end of the match failed to produce a fourth goal and Hatayspor advanced to the play-off final (where they eventually lost promotion to Alanyaspor).

Why was the old Alsancak stadium closed?

In August 2014, tests showed that the facility was not resistant to possible seismic shocks, so the structure was deemed unsafe and taken out of use. Strengthening the structure proved uneconomical and the stadium was demolished in 2015.

Prior to decommissioning, the facility had two stands located along the pitch, a western (double-decker) stand and an eastern stand. It was given this form in 1971, when it was modernized in connection with the organization of the Mediterranean Games in Izmir; it also underwent a major renovation before the 2005 Summer Universiade. The capacity of the stands was 18,000 spectators, and the stadium was also equipped with artificial lighting.

Between 2017 and 2021, the new Alsancak Stadium was built on the site of the demolished facility.