Atatürk Olympic Stadium
Stadium in Istanbul, Turkey
The Atatürk Olympic Stadium is a stadium in Istanbul, Turkey. Located in the western district of Başakşehir, it is the largest-capacity stadium in the country, and largest permanent track and field stadium outside Africa and Asia by capacity. The stadium is named after Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder and first President of the Republic of Turkey. Its construction began in 1999 and was completed in 2002. It was originally built for Turkey's bid for the 2008 Olympic Games that were ultimately awarded to Beijing, China. It cost about US$140 million.