The Ankara 19 Mayıs Stadium ( tr, Ankara 19 Mayıs Stadyumu) was the home venue of

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

's Gençlerbirliği. It was built in 1930 and is part of the 19 Mayıs Sports Complex, which is located in the

Ulus Ulus may refer to: Places * Ulus, Bartın, a district in Bartin Province, Turkey *Ulus, Ankara, an important quarter in central Ankara, Turkey ** Ulus (Ankara Metro), an underground station of the Ankara Metro Other uses * ''Ulus'' (newspaper), a ...

district. The stadium had a capacity of 19,209 (all-seater).

Ankaraspor Ankaraspor Kulübü (), formerly known as Osmanlıspor (), is a Turkish professional football club based in the country's capital Ankara. Founded in 1978, the club competes in the TFF Second League. History Ankaraspor was founded as "Ankara Bele ...

also used the stadium until they moved to their new venue in the Yenikent district. The stadium was named after the date May 19, 1919, when

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, or Mustafa Kemal Pasha until 1921, and Ghazi Mustafa Kemal from 1921 Surname Law (Turkey), until 1934 ( 1881 – 10 November 1938) was a Turkish Mareşal (Turkey), field marshal, Turkish National Movement, re ...

arrived at

Samsun Samsun, historically known as Sampsounta ( gr, Σαμψούντα) and Amisos (Ancient Greek: Αμισός), is a city on the north coast of Turkey and is a major Black Sea port. In 2021, Samsun recorded a population of 710,000 people. The cit ...

to start the

Turkish War of Independence The Turkish War of Independence "War of Liberation", also known figuratively as ''İstiklâl Harbi'' "Independence War" or ''Millî Mücadele'' "National Struggle" (19 May 1919 – 24 July 1923) was a series of military campaigns waged by th ...

. Official ceremonies to celebrate the May 19th Youth and Sports Day were also held at the stadium. In August 2018, demolition of the stadium began in order to make way for a new stadium to be built on the site.

Original stadium

The stadium was originally built from 1934 to 1936, designed by architect Paolo Vietti-Violi.

Stadium reconstruction project

The New Ankara 19 Mayıs Stadium, is a newly reconstruction project by GSGM and the Ankara City Council. The stadium's project was introduced to the Turkish press on February 4, 2010. It will have a seating capacity for 20.600 spectators and will be totally covered. The New Ankara Stadium will be located on the site of the current stadium. With a newly completed basketball arena to its west and the Youth Park to its south, the new stadium constitutes a promising urban sports and recreation centre. The stadium is situated at a most convenient location; minutes away from the historic city centre and railway station on foot, and accessible easily by various highways, as well as two different metro lines and several bus routes. The stadium appears as a distorted cube, fitting in very well with its urban surrounding both aesthetically and functionally. It will be completed by a façade with a structure consisting of geometric patterns inspired by traditional Turkish mosaic art and architecture.

Stands

In the currently used stadium there are five stands: Gecekondu, Maraton, Saatli, Kapalı and Protokol. Gecekondu, Maraton and Kapalı are usually used by the home side supporters. Protokol belongs to statesmen and high-level officials from both the home side and the visiting side. Saatli is usually spared for the visiting team's supporters. Gecekondu is the cheapest part of the stadium.

Access

The stadium can be accessed by car, bus, metro, and

dolmuş In Turkey and Northern Cyprus, dolmuş () are share taxis that run set routes within and between cities. Background Their name is derived from Turkish for "seemingly stuffed" referencing the fact that in days past these taxis were often filled ...

. Ulus Metro Station has a stop for the stadium.

Matches and tickets

There are two types of tickets for the clubs playing in this stadium: seasonal and per match. Single match tickets can be purchased online from the Biletix website.

References

External links

Stadium pictureOfficial site for EURO 2016 Bid Turkey

Official site for EURO 2016 Bid Turkey – New Ankara Stadium
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ankara 19 Mayis Stadium Football venues in Turkey Sports venues in Ankara Sports venues completed in 1936 Süper Lig venues Athletics (track and field) venues in Turkey Sports venues demolished in 2018 Demolished buildings and structures in Turkey