Abdi İpekçi Arena demolition 20180201 (1)

Abdi İpekçi Arena, formerly known as Abdi İpekçi Sports Complex, was a multi-purpose

indoor arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectator ...

located in the Zeytinburnu district of

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...

, situated just outside the ancient city walls, in

Yedikule Yedikule ( en, Seven Towers) is a neighborhood of Fatih, Istanbul in Turkey. It is named after the seven-towered Yedikule Fortress, which surrounds the neighborhood. Urbanized in the 16th century, the neighborhood became a hub for industrial and ...

History

Designed in 1979, and opened on 3 June 1989, after several years of interrupted construction, it was named after the renowned Turkish journalist

Abdi İpekçi Abdi İpekçi (9 August 1929 – 1 February 1979) was a Turkish journalist, intellectual and an activist for human rights. He was murdered while editor-in-chief of one of the main Turkish daily newspapers '' Milliyet'' which then had a cent ...

. It was the primary basketball venue in Istanbul for two decades and hosted many (mostly the international) games of Istanbul's four top basketball clubs Anandolu Efes, Fenerbahçe, Galatasaray and Besiktas, as well as many other sports events and concerts. However, its significance declined after the opening of Sinan Erdem Dome in 2010, which surpassed Abdi İpekçi Arena as the biggest and most state of the art arena in Istanbul.

Closure

After the 2016/2017 season, the arena was closed. It got demolished in early 2018. In its place, a basketball training and performance center is to be built. Basketball teams

Anadolu Efes Anadolu Efes Biracılık ve Malt Sanayii A.Ş.''(lit. Anadolu Efes Brewery and Malt Industries)'' produces and markets beer and malt and non-alcoholic beverages in a wide geographical area comprising Turkey, Russia, the Commonwealth of Independ ...

and Galatasaray are now playing their games at Sinan Erdem Dome beginning with the 2017/18 season. Galatasaray also plans to move into a newly built own arena in the coming years. Fenerbahçe already moved into their own Ülker Sports Arena in 2012.

Facilities

The

arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectator ...

had an audience

seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile tha ...

of 12,270. It hosted national and international sports events, such as

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat s ...

, and

weightlifting Weightlifting generally refers to activities in which people lift weights, often in the form of dumbbells or barbells. People lift various kinds of weights for a variety of different reasons. These may include various types of competition; pro ...

, as well as

concert A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide var ...

s and

congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

es, among other events. The facility contained a multi-faced visual scoreboard, six online-system counters, four locker rooms, two internet rooms, a press room, two multi-purpose offices, VIP rooms, etc. Its parking lot had a capacity of 1,500 cars.

Events

The professional basketball teams of Galatasaray men's basketball team and Galatasaray women's basketball team played their Turkish League home matches since the 2009–10 season in the Abdi İpekçi Arena. Some of the notable events, which took place in the arena are: *

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment building in Amsterdam after two of its engin ...

FIBA European League Final Four *

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

FIBA European Cup The FIBA Saporta Cup was the name of the second-tier level European-wide professional club basketball competition, where the domestic National Cup winners, from all over Europe, played against each other. The competition was organized by FIBA E ...

Final * 1996 FIBA EuroStars * 1997

Girl Power! Live in Istanbul Girl Power! Live in Istanbul was a two-night concert by British girl group the Spice Girls. The concerts, which were organized by Pepsi as part of the group's sponsorship deal, were performed at the Abdi İpekçi Arena in Istanbul, Turkey on 12 ...

* 2001

Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in Basildon, Essex, in 1980. The band currently consists of Dave Gahan (lead vocals and co-songwriting) and Martin Gore (keyboards, guitar, co-lead vocals and main songwriting). Depech ...

concert

Exciter Tour Exciter may refer to: Music * Exciter (band), a Canadian speed metal band ** ''Exciter'' (Exciter album), also known as ''O.T.T.'', a 1988 album by Exciter * ''Exciter'' (Depeche Mode album), a 2001 album by Depeche Mode * "Exciter" (song) a 19 ...

* EuroBasket 2001 Final phase *

2004 Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest 2004 was the 49th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Istanbul, Turkey, following the country's victory at the with the song "Everyway That I Can" by Sertab Erener. Organised by the European Broa ...

* 2005

Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English singer, musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and lead singer of the rock band Genesis and also has a career as a solo performer. Between 1982 and ...

Concert * 2007

Enrique Iglesias Enrique Miguel Iglesias Preysler (; (born 8 May 1975) is a Spanish singer and songwriter. He started his recording career in the mid-1990s on the Mexican indie label Fonovisa and became the bestselling Spanish-language act of the decade. By th ...

Concert *

2009 European Short Course Swimming Championships The 2009 European Short Course Swimming Championships was held in Istanbul, Turkey, from Thursday 10 to Sunday 13 December 2009. A temporary swimming pool was built within the Abdi İpekçi Arena. The event was held over four days with: heats, s ...

* 2009 Men's European Volleyball Championship *

2010 FIBA World Championship The 2010 FIBA World Championship was the 16th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship contested by the men's national teams. The tournament ran from 28 August to 12 September 2010. It was co-organised by the Inte ...

* 2011 European Judo Championships *

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

EuroLeague Women Final Eight * 2014 FIBA World Championship for Women

References

External links

Arena page on TBF website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abdi Ipekci Arena 1986 establishments in Turkey Basketball venues in Turkey Galatasaray Basketball Galatasaray S.K. facilities Indoor arenas in Turkey Music venues in Istanbul Sports venues completed in 1986 Sports venues in Istanbul Swimming venues in Turkey Turkish Basketball League venues Volleyball venues in Turkey Zeytinburnu Abdi İpekçi Defunct indoor arenas Defunct basketball venues Defunct volleyball venues Sports venues demolished in 2018 Defunct sports venues in Turkey Demolished buildings and structures in Istanbul