Three years after Turkish Süper Lig side Beşiktaş "bid farewell" to its İnönü Stadium, the club "finally returned home on Sunday" as its new stadium, the Vodafone Arena, opened with a "grandiose ceremony," according to Hakan Baş of the DAILY SABAH. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan opened the new stadium "after cutting the ribbon in the presence of around 6,000 invitees." The Vodafone Arena is among the "most modern stadia in the world." The new venue, with a capacity of about 43,000 spectators, "boasts special lounges, smart applications such as StadiumVision technology, enabling multimedia experience in screens installed throughout the stadium for fans to watch important moments of matches, and high-speed Wi-Fi." The stadium also has "environmentally friendly features such as the use of solar energy in its operations, storage of rainwater for later use in watering the pitch," etc. Except during football games, the stadium "will also be an entertainment and fashion center." Beşiktaş Museum and Beşiktaş's store "Eagles' Nest" will be in the stadium. The club spent about 350M Turkish lira ($123M) on the construction after Chair Fikret Orman "managed to secure a permit for the reconstruction of the İnönü Stadium" (DAILY SABAH, 4/10).
HARD OPENING: FOX SPORTS' Lindsay Claiborn reported Beşiktaş' first match in its newly rebuilt Vodafone Arena was "marred by tear gas and water cannons." Turkish police on Monday "used the extreme measures to disperse thousands of supporters." Monday's match against Bursapor was "sold out long in advance" and thousands of Beşiktaş fans filled roads outside the venue "just to be nearby the opening game." Despite the opening day conflicts, Beşiktaş "got off to a good start" in its new home, beating Bursapor 3-2 (FOX SPORTS, 4/11).
