Sukru Saracoglu Stadium is a football stadium in the Kadikoy district of Istanbul, Turkey, and is the home venue of Fenerbahce.
It was inaugurated in 1908, renovated between 1999 and 2006 and currently increased in capacity. It is the first stadium in Turkey designed according to official football regulations in standards. On October 4, 2006, after numerous inspections by the UEFA, Sukru Saracoglu Stadium was selected to host the 2009 UEFA Cup Final.
The Fenerbahce Sukru Saracoglu Stadium has gone through a complete rebuilding process which involved each stand being destructed and rebuilt after one another. Every one of these stands have been built closer to the pitch, getting the fans closer to the action on the field. This style of stadium has never before existed in Turkey, as the stands are usually separated from the pitch by a running track.
The "Maraton" stand can hold up to 14,500 spectators. This stand includes "Box Offices" which have all been rented out from the club. These Box Offices, equipped with TV’s, Internet, work areas, dining facilities and many other luxuries, are the first of their kind in Turkey. Facing Maraton is the "Fenerium" stand with its 15,000 seats capacity and its equally luxurious "1907" zone. With each remaining stands (namely "Migros" and "Telsim") having a 10,500 capacity, the total capacity of the stadium is 50,509.
Before Sukru Saracoglu Stadyumu was built, the field was known as Papazın cayırı. In 1908, local teams needed a regular soccer field, so this land leased from the Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II for 30 ottoman gold coins a year. The construction costs were 3000 Ottoman gold coins.
Union Club Field was used by many teams in İstanbul included the owner Union Club (which changed it name to Ittihatspor after WW1), Fenerbahce, Galatasaray and Besiktas. However it has lost its importance when a bigger venue built in 1922, Taksim Stadium.
In 1929, the owner club İttihatspor was shut down by government which Sukru Saracoglu was working in. So the ownership passed to government, but the field was immedietly leased to Fenerbahce. Then in 1933, Fenerbahce bought the stadium from the government for 9000 TL. This time Sukru Saracoglu was the president of Fenerbahce.
Name of the field changed to Fenerbahce Stadium, and this had made Fenerbahce SK the first football club in Turkey to own its stadium, with the help of government and Sukru Saracoglu. During the following years Fenerbahce SK had renovated and increased the seating capacity of the stadium. By year 1949, Fenerbahce Stadium was the biggest stadium in Turkey with seating capacity of 25,000.
In 1998, the name of the stadium changed once more, becoming Sukru Saracoglu Stadium. In 1999 the latest round of renovations and capacity increase projects started which ended in 2006. The four sides of the stadium were torn down one at a time as the normal league season progress. As of 2007, the stadium has the official seating capacity of 50,509.
