The Atatürk Olympic Stadium - Atatürk Olimpiyat Stadyumu in Turkish - is a 75,145-seat multi-sport stadium built in Istanbul for the city's bid to host the 2008 Olympic Games.
Due to the failure of this bid, this sports complex, which was intended to bring together other sports facilities, remains unfinished. However, the stadium is fully operational.
Located in the western part of the city, the building is named after Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder and first president of the Republic of Turkey.
Built in 2001, it hosted the 2004 and 2005 Turkish Football Cup finals and is now the largest soccer stadium in Turkey, ahead of the Türk Telekom Stadyumu and the İzmir Atatürk Stadium.
Often shown as a stadium too far from the city of Istanbul (the stadium is located on the TEM highway), the difficulties of travel during major matches are obvious. As it is an Olympic stadium, the stands are located behind the athletics track.
