Elaziğ Stadyumu – stadium description

How was the new Elazığ stadium built?

You can see an overview of the construction of the new Elazığ stadium on a separate subpage

Although the redevelopment of Elazığ stadium had been promised several years earlier, the first work was carried out at the end of 2017. At that time, the northern arch of the old stadium was demolished, as the new arena was to be built in stages. However, the construction of the new stand did not start immediately after the demolition, and in the meantime the plans were changed and it was decided to build the entire stadium in one go.

The demolition of the remaining stands of Elazığ Atatürk Stadyumu took place in the first months of 2019, and the construction of the new stadium started with a slight delay, on October 17, 2019. To provide a temporary home for the football clubs, a temporary arena was built in the east of the city.

The design of the new stadium was the work of Alper Aksoy Mimarlik and the main contractor for the construction work was MYS Yol Yapı İnşaat. The development encountered difficulties, including delays in transferring money to the contractor and the COVID-19 pandemic, and a dangerous-looking fire occurred at the construction site in early 2022.

Finally, at the end of 2022, the facility reached a stage close to completion. The opening had to wait until May 7, 2023, when Elazığspor faced Karaköprü Belediyespor in a league match. Although the hosts came out on top first, the inaugural match ended in a 2-1 victory for the visiting team.

What are the characteristics of the new stadium in Elazığ?

The Elazığ stadium site lies a short distance west of the city centre, close to a large park opened in 2015 (Elazığ Kültürpark), in a quarter between two avenues - Atatürk Boulevard to the south and Zübeyde Hanım Avenue to the north. The facility was built on the site of the old Atatürk Stadium, which existed from 1974 until its demolition in early 2019.

The building departs from the popular roundness in favour of a more conservative layout, referring to the traditions of Turkish architecture in a modern way. The volume is massive, but its size is broken up by the glazing, horizontal louvres and wooden panels adorning the facades.

The stadium itself covers an area of 27,000 m2, while the entire complex (including the new auditorium to the west and the car parks to the north) is around 60,000 m2. The plot of land is tight, so the pragmatic rectangular plan of the stadium makes it possible to create large volumes for not only football, but also other sports and cultural activities.

The contract value of the stadium ( including the sports hall built at the same time) is 128.4 million lira, which is well below the European standard. This is influenced by the simple, repetitive and harmonious layout of the stands, which have no auditoriums in the corners (except in the south-east) and no split levels. Plans for a 23,000-seater facility were initially reduced to 20,000, and the stadium's final capacity is 18,423 spectators. The construction was funded by the Ministry of Youth and Sports.

The new stadium is hosted by two local clubs, Elazığspor and 23 Elazığ FK, both of which were playing in the TFF 3rd Lig (fourth tier of the competition) when the facility opened. Unlike its predecessor, Atatürk's name was not included in the name of the new stadium, which sparked controversy and polemics.