Abdi Ipekçi Arena
Encyclopedia
Abdi İpekçi Arena, formerly known as Abdi İpekçi Sports Complex, is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in the Zeytinburnu
district of Istanbul
, Turkey
, situated just outside of the ancient city walls
in Yedikule
. Opened in 1986 after many years of interrupted construction, it is named after the renowned Turkish
journalist Abdi İpekçi
.
The arena
has an audience capacity of 12,500. It hosts national and international sports events such as basketball
, volleyball
, wrestling
and weightlifting
, concert
s and congress
es among others. The facility contains a multi-faced visual scoreboard, six online-system counters, four locker rooms, two internet rooms, a press room, two multi-purpose offices, VIP rooms, etc. Its parking lot has a capacity of 1,500 cars. Also, the Spice Girls
performed their first ever Concert there in October 1997.
The professional basketball teams of Galatasaray Men's Basketball Team and Galatasaray Medical Park Women's Basketball Team
play their Turkish League
home matches since the 2009-2010 season in the Abdi İpekçi Arena. Some of the notable events, which took place in the arena are:
Zeytinburnu
Zeytinburnu is a working class neighbourhood, municipality and district on the European side of İstanbul, Turkey, on the shore of the Marmara Sea just outside the walls of the ancient city, beyond the fortress of Yedikule...
district of Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, situated just outside of the ancient city walls
Walls of Constantinople
The Walls of Constantinople are a series of defensive stone walls that have surrounded and protected the city of Constantinople since its founding as the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire by Constantine the Great...
in Yedikule
Yedikule
Yedikule or Heptapyrgion can refer to:* the Yedikule Fortress in Istanbul, Turkey.* the Yedikule neighborhood in Istanbul, Turkey, where the fortress is located, part of the district of Fatih....
. Opened in 1986 after many years of interrupted construction, it is named after the renowned Turkish
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
journalist Abdi İpekçi
Abdi Ipekçi
Abdi İpekçi was a Turkish journalist, intellectual and an activist for human rights. He was murdered while editor-in-chief of the Turkish daily newspaper Milliyet.-Biography:...
.
The arena
Arena
An arena is an enclosed area, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theater, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators. The key feature of an arena is that the event space is the...
has an audience capacity of 12,500. It hosts national and international sports events such as basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
, wrestling
Wrestling
Wrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...
and weightlifting
Powerlifting
Powerlifting is a strength sport. It resembles the sport of Olympic weightlifting, as both disciplines involve lifting weights in three attempts. Powerlifting evolved from a sport known as 'odd lifts' which followed the same three attempt format but used a wide variety of events akin to Strongman...
, concert
Concert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
s and congress
Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different nations, constituent states, independent organizations , or groups....
es among others. The facility contains a multi-faced visual scoreboard, six online-system counters, four locker rooms, two internet rooms, a press room, two multi-purpose offices, VIP rooms, etc. Its parking lot has a capacity of 1,500 cars. Also, the Spice Girls
Spice Girls
The Spice Girls were a British pop girl group formed in 1994. The group consisted of Victoria Beckham , Melanie Brown, Emma Bunton, Melanie Chisholm and Geri Halliwell. They were signed to Virgin Records and released their debut single, "Wannabe" in 1996, which hit number-one in more than 30...
performed their first ever Concert there in October 1997.
The professional basketball teams of Galatasaray Men's Basketball Team and Galatasaray Medical Park Women's Basketball Team
Galatasaray Women's Basketball Team
Galatasaray Medical Park is the women's basketball section of Galatasaray S.K., a major sports club in Istanbul, Turkey. The club is sponsored by Medical Park....
play their Turkish League
Turkish Basketball League
The Turkish Basketball League is the top men’s professional basketball league in Turkey, which is also called Turkish Premier Basketball League . There is also a Turkish Second Basketball League consisting of 2 divisions .-History:The first basketball game played in Turkey was at the Robert...
home matches since the 2009-2010 season in the Abdi İpekçi Arena. Some of the notable events, which took place in the arena are:
- 1992 European Champions CupEuroleagueEuroleague Basketball, commonly known as the Euroleague, is the highest level tier and most important professional club basketball competition in Europe, with teams from up to 18 different countries, members of FIBA Europe. For sponsorship reasons, for five seasons starting with 2010–2011, it is...
Final Four - 1995 European CupSaporta CupSaporta Cup was the name of the second-tier level European professional club basketball competition, where the National Cup winners from all over Europe played against each other. The competition was organized by FIBA Europe...
final - 1996 FIBA EuroStarsFIBA EuroStarsFIBA EuroStars was an annual event organized by FIBA Europe as a showcase basketball match from 1996 until 1999, inclusive.Seen by many to be the European answer to NBA All-Star Game, FIBA EuroStars featured that season's best players from Euroleague, a competition that was at the time still...
- 1997 Girl Power! Live in IstanbulGirl Power! Live in IstanbulGirl Power! Live In Istanbul was the first set of major concerts by the British pop group, The Spice Girls, in 1997. The concerts, organised by Pepsi as part of the group's sponsorship deal, were performed at the Abdi İpekçi Arena on October 12 and 13 in Istanbul, Turkey.The VHS release does not...
- 2001 Depeche ModeDepeche ModeDepeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex. The group's original line-up consisted of Dave Gahan , Martin Gore , Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke...
concert Exciter TourExciter TourExciter Tour was a 2001 concert tour by English electronic band Depeche Mode in support of the group's 10th studio album, Exciter, which was released in May 2001.... - 2001 European Basketball ChampionshipEuroBasket 2001The EuroBasket 2001 was the 32nd EuroBasket, the biennial regional basketball championship contested by European nations and held by FIBA Europe. The tournament, which was hosted by Turkey, began on 31 August 2001 and concluded with the final on 9 September 2001. Yugoslavia won the gold medal,...
Final phase - 2004 Eurovision Song ContestEurovision Song Contest 2004The Eurovision Song Contest 2004, was the 49th Contest and it was held in the Abdi İpekçi Arena in Istanbul, Turkey. This was the first occasion in which the contest was held in Turkey after they had won the competition in 2003 with Sertab Erener singing "Everyway That I Can"...
- 2005 Phil CollinsPhil CollinsPhilip David Charles "Phil" Collins, LVO is an English singer-songwriter, drummer, pianist and actor best known as a drummer and vocalist for British progressive rock group Genesis and as a solo artist....
Concert - 2007 Enrique IglesiasEnrique IglesiasEnrique Iglesias is a Spanish pop music singer, a son of singer Julio Iglesias.Enrique started his musical career on Mexican label Fonovisa...
Concert - 2009 European Short Course Swimming Championships
- 2010 FIBA World Championship2010 FIBA World ChampionshipThe 2010 FIBA World Championship, hosted by Turkey, was the international basketball competition contested by the men's national teams. The tournament ran from August 28 to September 12, 2010. It was co-organized by the International Basketball Federation , Turkish Basketball Federation and the...
- 2011 WWE SmackDown (November 2011)