Kocaeli Stadium is a

stadium A stadium (: stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage completely or partially surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit ...

İzmit İzmit () is a municipality and the capital Districts of Turkey, district of Kocaeli Province, Turkey. Its area is 480 km2, and its population is 376,056 (2022). The capital of Kocaeli Province, it is located at the Gulf of İzmit in the Sea ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. It was opened to public in 2018 with a capacity of 34,829 spectators. It is the new home of

Kocaelispor Kocaelispor is a Turkish professional football club based in İzmit, Kocaeli. They were founded in 1966 and played in the top level between 1980 and 1988, 1992–2003, and the 2008–09 seasons. Their best finish was in the 1992–93 season, w ...

. It replaced the club's previous home stadium,

İzmit İsmetpaşa Stadium İzmit İsmetpaşa Stadium () was a multi-purpose stadium in the Derince district of İzmit in Kocaeli Province, Turkey. It was named after the Turkish general and statesman İsmet İnönü (1884–1973), widely known as İsmet Pasha. Built in ...

History

The stadium is part of a project for constructing and modernizing sports venues led by Turkey's

Ministry of Youth and Sports A ministry of sports or ministry of youth and sports is a kind of government ministry found in certain countries with responsibility for the regulation of sports, particularly those participated in by young people. It is led by the minister of s ...

, aimed at making the country an attractive destination for continental and global sports events. The original design was developed in

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

by a team of architects led by renowned Turkish architect Alper Aksoy. Construction began in the summer of the same year. Significant earth removal was required to adapt the hillside and include an underground parking lot in the stadium design. Initially scheduled for completion in

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

, the project faced delays due to construction setbacks and rising material costs. The stadium was officially inaugurated on

1 September Events Pre-1600 * 1145 – The main altar of Lund Cathedral, at the time the seat of the archiepiscopal see of all the Nordic countries, is consecrated. *1173 – The widow Stamira sacrifices herself in order to raise the siege of An ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

, with a match between

and Fatsa Belediyespor. Kocaelispor won the match 2–0 in a game held as part of the Turkish Third Division.

International events hosted

On 8 October 2019, the stadium hosted the UEFA Women's Euro 2021 qualifying Group A match of

against

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

References

Football venues in Turkey Sports venues completed in 2018 2018 establishments in Turkey Sports venues in İzmit {{TFF First League venues