Balıkesir Metropolitan Municipality transformed Ali Hikmet Paşa Sports Facilities into a fully-equipped sports and living complex and put it back into service. Successful athletes of the future will be trained with the best opportunities in the complex that will make a great contribution to the city's sports life. 

Balıkesir Metropolitan Municipality transformed Ali Hikmet Paşa Facilities, which contributed to the sports life of the city for 44 years, into a fully equipped and modern sports and wellness complex after 3 years of work. Ali Hikmet Paşa Sports Complex, which will meet the demand of Balıkesir for the next 50 years without the need for any other facility in the best way, was inaugurated with a ceremony as the largest sports and wellness complex in the region with an area of 127 thousand square meters. After the opening ceremony, Mayor Yücel Yılmaz toured the complex with athletes and protocol members and played the first tennis match with famous artist Hülya Avşar on the outdoor tennis court.

EVERY DETAIL CONSIDERED

In the complex where a total of 5 football fields including 4 synthetic turf fields and 1 natural turf field, 5 outdoor tennis courts, 2 indoor tennis courts, 2 basketball courts, 2 streetball courts, 1 wrestling training field were built; tribunes with a capacity of 1,220 people were designed in a way that disabled citizens can easily benefit. The complex, which has a parking lot with a capacity of 372 cars and 8 buses, also has 18 thousand 175 square meters of green area, 1600 square meters of children's playground, 750 square meters of instrumental warm-up area, 3 meters wide and 1 thousand 40 meters long walking path, 10 thousand 584 square meters of open promenade area, changing rooms, fitness areas, administrative building and cafeterias.

"THERE IS NO SUCH FACILITY IN TÜRKİYE"

Metin Mengüç, President of Turkish Amateur Sports Federation Balıkesir Branch, started his speech by saying that a dream of Balıkesir youth has come true: "The modernization of Ali Hikmet Paşa Sports Complex has brought a different excitement to our youth. At the same time, as the Vice President of the Confederation of Amateur Sports of Turkey, I have visited 81 provinces of Turkey, I have seen all of the fields there. There is no such an integrated facility in 81 provinces of Turkey. It is perfect in every way, both with its football fields and the areas where other branches are carried out. The most beautiful thing is that amateur sports clubs in Balıkesir will be able to play matches at night, this was a longed for picture. Young people of Balıkesir; The super amateur club match between Gaziosmanpaşa Sports Club and Gökköy Sports Club was played at night thanks to the lighting. This was their dream. Playing a match at night in such a facility made everyone proud. I would like to thank our Metropolitan Mayor Yücel Yılmaz and his team who worked day and night to bring such a facility to Balıkesir. Our Mayor Yücel honored us by opening the facility one day before the closing of the Amateur Sports Week."

"A DREAM CAME TRUE"

 Stating that they continue to work together with the Metropolitan Municipality and district municipalities to spread the image of "Youth and Sports City Balıkesir" all over Turkey, Balıkesir Youth and Sports Provincial Director Âdem Özalp said, "In this context, we promote sports tourism by organizing important organizations and activities in our province. A very important facility is being opened. With its football fields, training halls for other branches and outdoor sports areas, there is an area where everyone can come and spend a full time. Children will be able to release their energy by doing sports here. I would like to thank Yücel Yılmaz, the Mayor of the Metropolitan Municipality, for making the facility what it is. The facility has come from where it was, from a dream to a reality. The facility has reached a very important position in Turkey. With its lighting, field organization and every aspect, it has become an area where young people can showcase their talents."

"THE FACILITY WILL SERVE BALIKESİR"

Stating that they reorganized the 1977-built Ali Hikmet Paşa Sports Facilities with conditions that will meet today's needs, Yücel Yılmaz, Mayor of Balıkesir Metropolitan Municipality, said: "Every mayor, every sportsman has made a contribution, but today there are over 166 football sports clubs in Balıkesir. Each of them train or play matches here on weekends and during the week. The number of young people doing sports in Balıkesir is increasing. On the one hand, Altıeylül Municipality opens swimming pools, hiking trails and different sports fields, and on the other hand, Karesi Municipality offers hundreds and thousands of athletes the opportunity to do licensed sports in the existing Alparslan Türkeş Sports Facility. This facility will serve the whole Balıkesir."

"WE REVEAL OUR DREAMS ONE BY ONE"

It was stated that Balıkesir ranks among the top 5 in Turkey when the number of facilities in square meters is calculated in proportion to its population. "When we, local administrators, NGOs, sports clubs in Balıkesir work together, Olympic and world champions will be produced one after another. We work, we work, we reveal our dreams one by one. All sports people raise athletes voluntarily with an amateur spirit. In terms of finance, our Chambers of Industry, Chambers of Commerce, Commodity Exchanges support our athletes at different points and Balıkesir protects its athletes with its 20 districts in unity and integrity. In every Metropolitan Municipality Assembly, we congratulate our athletes and give them awards. We provided 100 million liras of support to Amateur Sports Clubs in 2023."

"OUR PERSPECTIVE IS CLEAR; WE LOVE BALIKESİR SO MUCH"

Emphasizing that they will focus on each facility in the coming years and create educational and sports opportunities that will get professional results, Mayor Yücel Yılmaz said, "What we have done is the guarantee of what we will do. Our perspective is clear; we love Balıkesir very much. We cooperate in every field with those who want to work day and night for Balıkesir. This is the indicator here; we have done the work that will get results. Our coaches, clubs and athletes have a great duty. In order to ensure easy transportation of our young people here, we will have free shuttle services from different points of our city; every hour on weekdays and every half hour on weekends."

GOOD NEWS FOR BALIKESİRSPOR FROM MAYOR YILMAZ

Mayor Yücel Yılmaz, who announced his good news by not forgetting Balıkesirspor at the opening of Ali Hikmet Paşa Sports Facilities, said: "We will lay the foundation of a dormitory with increased capacity and an artillery training center in our Balıkesirspor Facilities within this year. As in every field, we will bring Balıkesir to where it should be in football. Our districts are not our competitors, we support and will continue to support all our districts under the umbrella of Balıkesir. Bandırma, Burhaniye, Edremit, Bigadiç are also ours. We will support each of our teams together."

In addition to Mayor of Balıkesir Metropolitan Municipality Yücel Yılmaz and athletes, the opening ceremony of Ali Hikmet Paşa Sports Complex was attended by; Karesi Mayor Dinçer Orkan, Altıeylül Mayor Hasan Avcı, Savaştepe Mayor Turhan Şimşek, Havran Mayor Emin Ersoy, Gömeç Mayor Mehmet İrem Himam, Turkish Amateur Sports Federation Balıkesir Branch President Metin Mengüç, Provincial Director of Youth and Sports Âdem Özalp, Balıkesir Chamber of Commerce President Rahmi Kula, Balıkesir Chamber of Industry President Nazmi Yarış, Balıkesir Commodity Exchange President Mehmet Çetin, AK Party Provincial Vice Chairman Vahdettin Çiftçi, MHP Provincial Chairman Niyazi Tunç, council members and citizens attended the opening ceremony.