Beşiktaş Stadyumu (currently known as the Tüpraş Stadyumu for sponsorship reasons) or Beşiktaş Park (during UEFA events) is an all-seater, multi-purpose stadium in the Beşiktaş district of Istanbul, Turkey. It is the home ground of Beşiktaş. The stadium was built on the site of Beşiktaş's former home, BJK İnönü Stadium. It has a capacity of approximately 42,684 spectators, after initially being planned for 41,903. The stadium hosted the 2019 UEFA Super Cup and 2026 UEFA Europa League final, and will host the 2027 UEFA Conference League final.

Beşiktaş Stadium houses 144 executive suites, and one "1903 Lounge" which can entertain up to 1,903 spectators in total. The "1903 stand" has a capacity of 636 spectators. VIP seats in the stadium are equipped with the FUNTORO Stadium & Arena solution – high definition interactive monitors which provide a live TV broadcast, advertising systems, player information etc. The new stadium also has 2,123 square metres of restaurants, 2,520 square metres of terrace restaurants and a VIP parking capacity of 600 vehicles. The ground is a 'smart stadium', where fans enjoy StadiumVision and high-speed Wi-Fi technology, planned in conjunction with Cisco.

Demolition works on BJK İnönü Stadium started on 2 June 2013, following the end of promotion play-offs for the TFF First League. The estimated cost of the project at the time was around $80 million. The new stadium was designed by Bünyamin Derman of DB architects. The old stadium was demolished, except for the Eski Açık stand, since this stand and its towers are considered historical monuments by the government. The Eski Açık stand was re-arranged to resemble the look of an antique amphitheatre. The new stadium was designed to be "in harmony with the natural and historic landscape of the Bosphorus" when seen from the sea.

History

İnönü Stadium era

Location In 1936, French architect and city planner Henri Prost (1874–1959) was invited to Turkey by President Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. He was tasked with the preparation of Istanbul's rough-cut urban planning and rebuilding, which lasted until 1951. In the first plan, Prost thought that the district of Şişli might be a good location for a city stadium. However, the governor of Istanbul, Muhittin Üstündağ, asked Prost to place the stadium in the Dolmabahçe area instead of the stable of the Dolmabahçe Palace as a fait accompli in his master city plan, which came into force in 1939.

Construction BJK İnönü Stadium, originally named the Dolmabahçe Stadium, was designed by Italian architect Paolo Vietti-Violi, who collaborated with Turkish architects Şinasi Şahingiray and Fazıl Aysu for preparing the project. The first foundation was laid on 19 May 1939, but construction was halted due to the outbreak of the Second World War. The stadium was inaugurated on 19 May 1947, by İsmet İnönü, the second President of Turkey and himself a Beşiktaş fan, and Lütfi Kırdar, the Governor of Istanbul.

The initial capacity was 16,000. In the original project plan, there were two bronze statues of athlete figures at the Eski Açık stand: one throwing a discus, and the other throwing a javelin. However, the statues were never built due to financial concerns. The oil factory which was found behind the stadium was demolished to construct the Yeni Açık stand at the west part of the stadium in 1950 (hence the name Yeni Açık, meaning the New Open-top; referring to the two covered stands (Numaralı and Kapalı) and the two open-top stands (Eski Açık and Yeni Açık). In 1952, the stadium was renamed as the Mithat Paşa Stadium, and later in 1973, it was renamed as the İnönü Stadium. A leasing contract was signed between Beşiktaş and the Ministry of Youth and Sports in February 1998 which gave all usage rights of the İnönü Stadium to Beşiktaş for 49 years.

First football match The first football match at the Dolmabahçe Stadium took place between Beşiktaş and AIK Stockholm of Sweden, on 27 November 1947, and the first goal in the stadium was scored by Süleyman Seba; the most famous and longest-presiding President of the club (in the 1980s and 1990s) when he used to be a player for Beşiktaş. Beşiktaş lost this match 3–2.

Galatasaray and Fenerbahce shared the stadium with Beşiktaş for many years, before the construction of the Ali Sami Yen Stadium for Galatasaray in 1964, and the renovation of the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium for Fenerbahçe in 1982.

Renovation Renovation work took place at the BJK İnönü Stadium in 2004. The tartan track was removed within the scope of these activities and the ground level was lowered by four metres to increase the capacity of the stadium to 32,145 spectators. The press seats were relocated to the Numaralı stand from the Kapalı stand. The lounges that were found in the middle of the Kapalı stand were demolished. The number of gates was doubled. A press centre for Beşiktaş TV was built inside the stadium. The restrooms and food counters were renovated. The Yeni Açık stand was covered with a metallic structure. The work was done in compliance with UEFA standards.

New stadium project

Due to the unique location of İnönü Stadium, which is considered one of the best in the world, and its legal status as a "historic monument" protected by the Turkish High Council of Monuments, the renewal project had to be modified and postponed several times and all official requests, efforts, renewal attempts were denied. In 2008, former club president Yildirim Demirören launched a project designed by HOK sports, with a design capacity of 42,000 spectators. However, this project was also cancelled because of concerns regarding how the new project didn't suit the historical environment of Beşiktaş. Finally, in 2013, current club president Fikret Orman completed the administrative procedures after extended bureaucratic exchanges, and received all required permissions by proposing specific design goals.

Vodafone Arena era

December 2016 bombing On 10 December 2016, two bombs exploded outside the stadium, killing at least 46 (38 police officers, 8 civilians) and injuring 136. The first and larger explosion took place at about 7:30 p.m. after home team Beşiktaş defeated visitors Bursaspor 2–1 in the Turkish Super League. An official with knowledge of the attack said that the timing of the bombing aimed to maximize the loss of life. However, the civilian death toll was lower because fans had already left the stadium after the match. Witnesses also reported hearing gunfire after the explosions. Officials have said that the first explosion was caused by a passing vehicle that detonated in an area where police special forces were located at the stadium exit. A riot police bus appeared to have been the target. Turkish officials said a person who had been stopped by police in nearby Maçka Park committed suicide by triggering explosives moments later.

2017 name change On 26 May 2017, President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, announced he had instructed his minister of sports to remove the word 'arena' from all stadiums across the country due to his personal objections to the term, associating it with the original Roman meaning. One day later, the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) confirmed the word would be removed accordingly. One week later, Beşiktaş announced the Vodafone Arena was renamed to Vodafone Park.

First female referee in a final match

Beşiktaş Stadium witnessed the first female referee in a major European men's football final match when French referee Stéphanie Frappart took charge of the UEFA Super Cup match between Liverpool and Chelsea on 14 August 2019. (In August 2003, Nicole Petignat became the first female referee of a men's football match organized by UEFA; AIK Fotboll (SWE) versus Fylkir (ISL) in the preliminary round of the UEFA Cup.)

Design

Beşiktaş Stadium was designed by the architectural firm DB Architects. Bünyamin Derman served as the project's architect of record. The stadium meets UEFA Category 4 criteria, the strictest in the ranking defined by UEFA regulations for stadium infrastructure.

Beşiktaş Stadium differs from modern stadiums by three design goals imposed by the authority and nature of the construction site. Thanks to these design goals, "the architecture of the stadium reflects history, heritage and prosperity."

Colosseum (Coliseum) Architecture

Due to the proximity of Dolmabahçe Palace, the Dolmabahçe Clock Tower, the Dolmabahçe Mosque and the Bosphorus, the Turkish High Council of Monuments demanded a more historic look which should fit the surrounding historical area. Most of the proposed architectural designs for the new stadium were modern structures, with glossy external surfaces made from metal, glass or composite materials. To accomplish the first design goal, a colosseum architecture was proposed to and accepted by the high council. Colosseum architecture was previously used in stadiums such as the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and the Busch Memorial Stadium, but mostly several decades ago.

Waveform Stands

In modern stadiums, the height of the stands are generally at the same level. Since the construction site of Beşiktaş Stadium is narrow and surrounded by roads, the height of the stands decrease specifically at the corners and widen at the edges. The varying elevation creates a significant waveform-shape in the stands and gives a traditional look. The height of the east stand is lower – which is another design goal imposed by the High Council so as not affect the silhouette of the Bosphorus.

Elliptical Design

The design of the majority of modern football stadiums are mostly square, rectangular with rounded corners, or circular. Some older stadiums include tartan tracks – especially Olympic stadiums. Due to the tartan tracks, these stadiums have elliptical forms like the old İnönü stadium. To be faithful to the previous architecture designed in 1939 and coherent with the two remaining historical towers of the old Inönü stadium, Beşiktaş Stadium also has an elliptical form, although there is no tartan track inside the stadium. The design repeats the same idea of perfect symmetry reached in 1939 by extending the main arc between the two old towers throughout the structure.

Development

Environmental compatibility

The new stadium project aimed to ensure a low environmental impact via the use of state of the art sustainable technologies. The stadium was constructed to reduce energy consumption from non-renewable energy sources by reducing waste and optimizing the resources available. The Green Building concept of Beşiktaş Stadium ensures environmentally friendly and resource efficient processes at each stage of construction, from site selection and design to construction by using Green Building certified construction materials, to seek the minimum possible impact on the environment.

The stadium will produce electricity using solar energy captured through photovoltaic panels capable of producing 500 kVA per year. This corresponds to the annual electricity consumption of about 100 average households and a CO2 saving of around 250 tonnes. The stadium will store rainwater in cisterns to use later for watering the pitch and other purposes. These alternative energy sources are aimed at helping the stadium meet the criteria dictated by the Kyoto Protocol by generating multiple results:

Intensive exploitation of solar energy through solar tracker tools Reductions of greenhouse gases No production of chemical or acoustic emissions No air pollution No risk of fire Rainwater harvesting

All concrete and metal parts from the demolished BJK Inönü Stadium were separated and reused; other materials were divided into categories, in order to be recycled, resold, or reused.

Historical monument