2008-2009 UEFA FINAL STADİUM - Fenerbahce Sukru Saracoglu Stadı

The visual identity for the 2009 UEFA Cup final, to be played at the Sükrü Saraçoglu Stadium in Istanbul on Wednesday 20 May 2009, has been unveiled. The final of the competition has, in recent years, been given a personality of its own via a complete design concept developed especially for the event and this season is no exception.

Fenerbahçe Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium (Pronounced as "Sheukreu Sarachohlu" is a football stadium in the Kadıköy district of İstanbul, Turkey, and is the home venue of Fenerbahçe S.K.. 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.[citation needed] On October 4, 2006, after numerous inspections by the UEFA, Fenerbahçe Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium was selected to host the 2009 UEFA Cup Final. Fenerbahçe Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium has gone through a complete rebuilding process which involved each stand being demolished and rebuilt in turn. Each stand has 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" stands can hold up to 14,500 supporters. This tribune includes "Boxes" (or Lodges) which are rented out from the club on a yearly basis. These boxes are fully-equipped with TV’s, Internet, work and meeting areas, dining facilities and many other luxuries; as the first and most luxurious of their kind in Turkey. Facing Maraton tribune, is the "Fenerium" tribune (named after the official fan-shop chain of Fenerbahçe) with its 15,000 seating capacity and the luxurious "1907" zone. There also are equally luxuries boxes and lodges here. Apart from the boxes section of this tribune, every single seating has an LCD monitor on the behind of the chairs, for every supporter to follow the game from the live coverage and catch the replays. With each remaining tribunes at the behind of each goal, namely "Migros" and "Telsim" (named after the sponsors of the each tribune's construction projects), both having a total of 10,500 seats, the total official capacity of the stadium is 50,509

 Before Fenerbahçe Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadyumu was built, the field was known as Papazın Çayırı. In 1908, local teams needed a regular soccer field, so this land was leased from the Ottoman Sultan Abdülhamid II for 30 Ottoman gold pounds a year. The total construction cost was 3,000 Ottoman gold pounds. The Union Club Field was used by many teams in İstanbul, including the owner, Union Club (which changed its name to İttihatspor after World War I), Fenerbahçe, Galatasaray and Beşiktaş. However, it had lost its importance when a bigger venue, the Taksim Stadium, was built in 1922, inside the courtyard of the historic Taksim Topçu Kışlası (Taksim Artillery Barracks), which was located at the present-day Taksim Gezi Parkı (Taksim Park). In 1929, the club which owned the stadium, İttihatspor, was shut down by the CHP government, in which Şükrü Saracoğlu was a member. Thus, the ownership of the stadium passed to the state, but the field was immediately leased to Fenerbahçe. Later, in 1933, Fenerbahçe purchased the stadium from the government for 9,000 TL; when Şükrü Saracoğlu was the President of Fenerbahçe. The name of the field was changed to Fenerbahçe Stadium, and this made Fenerbahçe SK the first football club in Turkey to own its stadium, with the help of the Şükrü Saracoğlu government. In the following years, Fenerbahçe SK renovated the stadium and increased its seating capacity. By the year 1949, Fenerbahçe Stadium was the largest football venue in Turkey, with a seating capacity of 25,000. The name of the stadium was changed once more in 1998, becoming Fenerbahçe Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium, named after Fenerbahce's legendary chairman and Turkey's 6th Prime Minister Şükrü Saracoğlu. In 1999, the latest round of renovations and capacity increasing projects started. The tribunes on the four corners of the stadium were torn down one at a time, as the Turkish Super League seasons progressed, and the entire renewal and construction project was finalised in 2006, with the immense efforts of the Fenerbahçe president Aziz Yıldırım and the team's board of directors. Since the completion of the enlargement and renewal works in 2006, the stadium is now the most attractive, effective and advanced stadium of Turkey. Fenerbahçe Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium is one of the two stadiums of Turkey which fulfilled the 5-star criteria of UEFA. It is continuing to be the only Turkish stadium with 5-stars, which belongs to a specific club.