Kars Şehir Stadyumu

The ground that once stood in the Cumhuriyet district of Kars was not a grand venue, but it served the local community for decades. It was known locally as the Kars Atatürk Stadyumu, though it is now referred to as the Kars Şehir Stadyumu. The site held a simple capacity of 4,500, with only 500 of those spots under a roof. That covered section was likely the only dry refuge on a rainy afternoon, but the rest of the pitch was open to the elements.

What defines the place now is its absence. The structure was dismantled in April 2015. A seismic assessment declared the building unsafe. The timing was unfortunate for the tenants. Karsspor, the club that had called the ground home since the late 1960s, was still competing in the higher divisions of Turkish football.

There are plans for a new complex on the same plot, featuring a synthetic athletics track, but progress has been slow. The original natural grass surface is gone, replaced by rubble and silence. The address remains the same: Cumhuriyet, in Kars Merkez.

Current amateur sides like Kars 36 Spor and Karsgücü Futbol SK still operate in the region, but they do not play on this ground. The site is currently empty land, waiting for a project that has yet to materialise.