Kazım Karabekir Stadı

Kazım Karabekir Stadı is in Erzurum, where the cold does not wait for the frost to set in. The ground was not born for football; it was built for the 25th Winter Universiade . The renovation that transformed the site was a project of the Housing Development Administration of Turkey (TOKİ) , turning a local arena into a stage for the world's winter games before it returned to its primary purpose.

What makes the stadium distinct is how it handles the climate. The surface is hybrid grass , a conversion completed recently, but the real safeguard lies beneath it: an underfloor heating system that keeps the pitch playable when the temperature plummets. This engineering ensures that the game can proceed even when the air is sharp enough to cut skin. The stadium’s capacity is 21,374 , a figure that feels intimate given the elevation.

The naming of the venue has shifted with the times. It opened as Cemal Gürsel Stadı , named for a former President of Turkey, and later became Yeni Erzurum Stadyumu during the Universiade preparations. Since August 10, 2012 , it has borne the name of Kazım Karabekir , a commander from the War of Independence who also hailed from this city.

The atmosphere inside is shaped by the location. The stadium is the only major venue in the Yakutiye district, meaning that for the local clubs, BB Erzurumspor and the former Erzurumspor FK , this is their fortress. The official attendance record of 20,347 , set during a match against Galatasaray S.K. , reflects the rarity of such a large crowd in this part of the country.