Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium

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Lore & Background

Before the stadium was built, the field was known as Papazın Çayırı (lit. 'the priest's meadow'). It became the very first official association football pitch of Turkey, where the first league games of the Istanbul Football League were all held consecutively. Until the Young Turks proclaimed the 2nd Constitutional Era in 1908, this green area had long been part of the Sultan's private estate. That same year, a group of passionate sportsmen, led by Nurizade Ziya Songülen (the founder and first president of Fenerbahçe) and Cemil Topuzlu (then the physician to Abdul Hamid II), launched an initiative to secure land in Istanbul dedicated to football activities. They chose this plot as the ideal location. In 1908, the land was leased from Sultan Abdul Hamid II for 30 Ottoman gold pounds a year, with a total construction cost of 3,000 Ottoman gold pounds. The stadium was named 'Union Club Field' by a group of sports enthusiasts led by Ziya Songülen, together with Cemil Topuzlu and Reji Whittall. The name was derived from the 'Union Club', an organization that functioned as the football federation of that era.

In Their Own Story

The Union Club Field was used by many teams in İstanbul, including Union Club (which changed its name to İttihatspor after World War I), Fenerbahçe, Galatasaray, and Beşiktaş. However, it lost its importance when a bigger venue, the Taksim Stadium, was built in 1922. İttihatspor was forced to sell it to the state, in which Şükrü Saracoğlu was a member of the CHP government. The ownership passed to the state, but the field was immediately leased to Fenerbahçe. On 27 May 1933, Fenerbahçe purchased the stadium from the government when Şükrü Saracoğlu was the President of Fenerbahçe, for either the symbolic amount of ₺1 or the worth of the stadium which was ₺9,000. The name was changed to Fenerbahçe Stadium, making Fenerbahçe SK the first football club in Turkey to own their stadium. By 1949, Fenerbahçe Stadium was the largest football venue in Turkey, with a seating capacity of 25,000. The field was closed to matches in 1964 and demolished in 1965. After 18 years of construction, it officially opened on September 19, 1982, with the Fenerbahçe-Altay match. The name changed again on 22 July 1998 to Fenerbahçe Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium. In 1999, the latest round of renovations started, with stands torn down one at a time as Turkish Super League seasons progressed, finalised in 2006. On 4 October 2006, after numerous inspections by UEFA, the stadium was selected to host the 2009 UEFA Cup Final, which went down in history as the last Final of the UEFA Cup tournament, rebranded as the UEFA Europa League starting from the 2009–10 season. On 3 August 2015, Ülker secured naming rights in a 10-year deal worth $90 million, renaming it Ülker Stadium Fenerbahçe Şükrü Saracoğlu Sports Complex. Chobani secured naming rights on 30 July 2025, for 5+5 seasons (10 years total), with a payment of €10 million per season, starting from the 2025–26 season.

Reader's Guide

The stadium's history is marked by four major renovation periods: 1929–1932, 1965–1982, and 1999–2006. The 1999–2006 project saw each of the four stands torn down and rebuilt one at a time while the team continued playing league matches. The stadium was the venue for the 2009 UEFA Cup Final, the last final before the tournament was rebranded as the UEFA Europa League. A number of artworks are placed in front of the stadium: a bust of Atatürk, a statue of Lefter Küçükandonyadis, a statue of Can Bartu, a statue of Alex, and a statue of Eda Erdem. The stadium's current sponsorship name is Chobani Stadium, effective from the 2025–26 season.

Did You Know?

• The stadium was originally called 'Union Club Field', named after the organization that functioned as the football federation of that era.
• The land was leased from Sultan Abdul Hamid II for 30 Ottoman gold pounds a year in 1908.
• Fenerbahçe became the first football club in Turkey to own their stadium when they purchased it on 27 May 1933.
• The stadium hosted the 2009 UEFA Cup Final, the last final before the tournament was rebranded as the UEFA Europa League.
• Chobani secured naming rights on 30 July 2025 for €10 million per season over 10 years.