Ali Sami Yen Stadium is the home of the football club Galatasaray SK in Istanbul, Turkey. It is named after the founder of the club, Ali Sami Yen. The stadium has a capacity of 25,000 (all-seater) and is situated in the Mecidiyekoy quarter of the Sisli district at the center of the city.
In 1940, the historic Taksim Stadium was demolished to give way to the Taksim Gezi Park next to Taksim Square, and the teams of Istanbul's Beyoglu quarter had to find a new stadium to play their matches. Galatasaray Sports Club decided to build a large, modern stadium, and construction works began in 1943. Due to the difficulties faced during the World War II years, only a small stadium could initially be built, which was opened in 1945. However, construction works continued on the site and the current stadium was completed in 1964.
Ali Sami Yen Stadium was inaugurated on December 14th, 1964, with a friendly game between Turkey and Bulgaria. Unfortunately, tragedy struck during the opening match: in one of the stands many people fell onto the first floor, which caused numerous injuries, but luckily none of them were fatal. Spotlights were added to the stadium in 1965, and night games began to be played (the lighting system was renovated in 1993). The stadium is made up of 2 identical lateral stands which are covered by a roof: the Numarali (Numbered) stand, where the TV cameras are located; and the Kapali (Covered) stand, where the most fanatical team supporters usually view the games. The two other stands, behind the goal gates, are the Yeni Acik (New Open), with 2 tiers, and the Eski Acik (Old Open), with the electronic scoreboard.
In the past, games were played in front of more than 40,000 spectators in this stadium, which is nicknamed "Hell" by Galatasaray's supporters because of its intimidating atmosphere and the enthusiastic support of the fans who often make mass use of torches, smoke, drums, flags and giant posters to create visual grandeur and apply psychological pressure on visiting teams. Ali Sami Yen is important for Galatasaray because it has seen many victories against renowned European football clubs, such as FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, AC Milan, PSV Eindhoven, AS Monaco, Leeds United, Deportivo La Coruna, PSG, Rangers and many others.
The stadium is located in Mecidiyekoy, one of the most crowded quarters of central Istanbul, surrounded by dense urban development. In recent years, numerous proposals have been put forward to demolish the current stadium and build a larger one on the same location, but this is impossible due to the lack of space.
