The new stadium project was launched in 1998 and it attracted wide interest. At the end of 2007, ten years after the initial announcement of the project, the groundbreaking for the new stadium was carried out (December 13, 2007) at a ceremony attended by state officials. 2009, The construction of the new stadium, the Türk Telekom Arena, gained speed when the contracting company was changed. 2010, It was announced that the official opening of the new stadium would take place on January 15, 2011 with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan presiding. But in the opening ceremony, he was protested by spectators of Galatasaray.