Gürsel Aksel Stadium: The New Home Of Göztepe Sports Club
Gürsel Aksel Sports and Wellness Center, the new stadium of Göztepe Sports Club, has been completed by REC International Construction, one of the group companies of Rönesans Holding. The Center was inaugurated with a match between Göztepe and Beşiktaş in the 19th week of Turkish Super League. As such, after many years Göztepe has returned to its home stadium, which is now equipped with the most advanced audio and visual technologies, and stands out with a feature that is unique in Turkey and the world: The 650-meter walking trail on the roof of the stadium offers an unmatched view of İzmir Bay.
The much-awaited Gürsel Aksel Sports and Wellness Center of Göztepe Sports Club, a Turkish Super League team, hosted football fans in a magnificent inaugural match. Named after Gürsel Aksel, a star player of the team in the 1960s when Göztepe took Europe and Turkey by the storm, the new stadium will serve fans of Göztepe and all the populace of İzmir with its capacity of 20,040 spectators. The project cost about 220 million TL, and took approximately two years to build. The project extends across 34.651 square meters of land in Üçkuyular neighborhood of Konak district of İzmir, and its total construction area is 94.541 square meters.
A FIRST IN THE WORLD: WALKING TRAIL ON THE ROOF
Renaissance Holding company REC International Construction has built Gürsel Aksel Stadium in harmony with UEFA Standards and the area’s environmental and ecological characteristics. It stands out with a feature that is unique in Turkey and the world: The 650-meter walking trail on the roof of the stadium offers an unmatched view of Izmir Bay. The walking trail will be open to all İzmir residents, except for match days.
Turkey Football Federation (TFF) has made an amendment in the past few days, which will increase the capacity from 20 thousand to 25 thousand spectators, by hosting seated spectators in the areas behind the goalposts.
Gürsel Aksel Sports and Wellness Center will not only host Göztepe matches, but also double as an area where all İzmir residents can spend quality time in its cafes, restaurants, fitness centers, social areas and children’s entertainment centers. Göztepe Stadium’s commercial space will contribute to the financial sustainability of Göztepe Sports Club. This new sports complex of İzmir also includes the Göztepe Sports Club Museum, where the past successes of Göztepe are on display.
FOOTBALL PASSION MEETS CUTTING-EDGE TECHNOLOGIES
The stadium has a total of 41 balconies and the seating area is one-storied. Thanks to this model, the acoustics and ambience within the stadium will be seamless. State-of-the-art technologies have been used for the lighting, heating and sound systems inside the stadium. If Göztepe scores a goal, the lights on the roof of the stadium will present a visual delight by illuminating the space in the pattern called “Mexican wave”.
About Rönesans Group
Rönesans Holding, the conglomerate's leading investment entity headquartered in Ankara, is the 53rd largest international contracting company globally and one of the largest in Europe. With operations spanning 30 countries across Europe, Central Asia, and Africa, including subsidiaries such as Ballast Nedam in the Netherlands and Heitkamp Industrial Solutions GmbH in Germany, Rönesans has been operating as the main contractor and investor successfully for 30 years in construction, energy, healthcare, real estate development and industrial investments. Putting resilience and growth through innovation at the core of the company, with a priority on sustainability and social development, Rönesans has developed projects supporting students with scholarships, academic platforms and initiatives; been a signatory of the UN Global Compact since 2015; and a signatory of the UN Women’s Empowerment Principles since 2016.
Under the leadership of its president, Erman Ilıcak, Rönesans, along with its partners GIC, Meridiam Infrastructure, Sojitz, Samsung C&T, TotalEnergies, and IFC of the World Bank Group (minority shareholder in the group), has invested more than EUR8 billion into pioneering projects globally.
