Beşiktaş inks deal with two firms for İnönü plan

ISTANBUL

Chairman Fikret Orman says Beşiktaş will benefit from the firms’ ‘know-how. AA photo

Beşiktaş signed a contract on Oct. 5 with the IMG-Doğuş Holding consortium regarding its reconstruction plan of the club’s İnönü Stadium.

The Istanbul club released a statement announcing the deal between the U.S.-based company IMG and Turkey’s Doğuş Holding.

“A deal has been signed to design the stadium project, to manage the stadium, and to use it for commercial means,” it was said.

Speaking at the press conference, Beşiktaş chairman Fikret Orman said the details of the stadium project would be released in due course, but added that the partnership would not be exclusively limited to the stadium.

“The main leg of this deal is related to marketing,” he said. “ING is a worldwide company with important know-how. We can benefit from their know-how.”

Financially struggling Beşiktaş sees the renovation of its historic İnönü Stadium as a key to improving its economic position. The club’s Istanbul rivals Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe have profited from new and improved stadiums. Galatasaray left its old Ali Sami Yen Stadium to move to a modern Türk Telekom Arena last year, while Fenerbahçe expanded its Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium in 2006.

Beşiktaş had earlier stated that construction works would be underway later in the season, and Culture and Tourism Minister Ertuğrul Günay also said the state would help the club finance the work.
“We will work with the Beşiktaş board in a joint project to renovate the stadium,” Günay said. “We will do it while preserving the stadium’s cultural and historical texture.”

Various media outlets have suggested that a new mall will be built on the incredibly valuable location and that Beşiktaş would be moved to another stadium, following the Galatasaray model, but Günay rejected these claims.