A Sports High School Complex from Erdemoğlu Holding to Trabzon

WHILE STUDYING UNIVERSITY AT TRABZON KTÜ, I STARTED TRADE HERE

In his inauguration speech, İbrahim Erdemoğlu, Erdemoğlu Holding Chairman of the Board of Directors, reminded that he graduated from the physics department at Karadeniz Technical University and that he started working by selling rugs while studying, and said, “So we first stepped into trade in Trabzon. Trabzon's merchandising is very different. It has a rarely seen business structure based on the principles of honesty, justice, embracing everyone, and tolerance. In expressing the idea of ​​building a complex in Trabzon, Erdemoğlu said, "I have been friends with Vakıfbank General Manager Abdi Serdar Üstünsalih from university time. We made such a decision after meeting with him. We met with Üstünsalih 3 years ago. After coming to Trabzon and meeting with my brother Abdi, he said that there was a need for a high school in the city center and a sports high school in Akçaabat. 'Which one would you like to have done?' he said. We came to Akçaabat with my brother Abdi. We were in this place with our then Mr. Governor. This place was arid land then. He showed the location of the high school. 'We will build the high school here,' he said. 'So will there be only one high school?' I asked. Esteemed Mr. Governor said, 'There will be a dormitory, a dormitory for boys and girls, a gym. We, as the state, will build these.' Then I thought for a minute. I told my esteemed Governor, 'Mr. Governor, let us build the dormitory and the gym. Let us turn this place into a smart complex. 'Do you allow it?' My esteemed governor approved it. We also met with Mr. Abdi and started the construction of this place. We know that citizens in Akçaabat are interested in sports. For this reason, we decided to build two football fields. Our special request from our teachers who will provide training in the sports complex is this: We expect and want you to train athletes both in Turkey and around the world in a place where this love and compassion are present. We believe that you will do this. One of the very important words our father told us was, 'Son, nothing but nothing is yours. Everything belongs to this country, this state, this nation.' And, may God have mercy on him, he left with four meters of cloth. There is no better proof than this that nothing is belonged. As the Erdemoğlu family, we have always shared with our country, our state, and our nation as long as we are successful and as long as we earn, and we will continue to share from now on."

I AM GREATLY EXCITED WITH EVERY SERVICE

Vakıf Bank General Manager Abdi Serdar Üstünsalih said, "As a son of Trabzon and Akçaabat, I am very excited about every step taken and every service provided for my hometown. İbrahim Erdemoğlu's decision to name the Sebat Youth facilities on campus after me has brought me entirely different feelings. It is an indescribable happiness for me to experience this moment in my hometown, where I try to take advantage of every opportunity to serve. The first step to success in sports is to have modern facilities and attach importance to infrastructure. When we achieve this, we can reach the top of Europe and the world."

A CITY THAT STANDS OUT IN EVERY ASPECT OF SPORTS

At the opening ceremony, Trabzon Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ahmet Metin Genç said, "All cities of our country have their characteristics, beauties, and values. In terms of its distinctive aspects, our Trabzon is a city of history, culture, and art, as well as a city that is the center of sports and education. The European Summer Games were held in our city in 2007, and the inter-high school Olympics were held in 2016, despite the coup. It is a city that stands out in not only football but also individual and indoor sports. May God bless those who brought this service to Trabzon."

WE DECLARE OUR HONORARY CITIZEN

Mayor Genç said, "Children who grow up in this education center in Trabzon will bring along value for their city, country, and humanity. That is why investing in education and sports is very valuable. We would like to thank Mr. Abdi Serdar Üstünsalih, the son of our city, who made this possible. Thank you for your work. A praiseworthy job has been done. You have provided works to Akçaabat Sebatspor in our Akçaabat, which is a sports city. We would like to declare the philanthropic businessman İbrahim Erdemoğlu as an honorary citizen of Trabzon with our council decision at the first council meeting of our Metropolitan Municipality. We want to answer back to his loyalty to this city."

SPORTS AND ACADEMIC EDUCATION TOGETHER

Minister of National Education Yusuf Tekin said, "I would like to thank Mr. İbrahim Erdemoğlu for looking out for the city where he eats his bread and drinks his water. In Turkey, for many years, sports education and academic education appeared as alternatives to each other. We recommended our children to receive either academic education or sports education. We could not consider them overlaping each other. There had been no institution called sports high school until 20 years ago. Sports high schools could not specialize in themselves. We started to make sports high schools thematic. As the Ministry of National Education, our job is to provide academic education. We do not know the technical infrastructure and equipment related to sports education. Let us establish a volleyball school together with the project schools, and let the Volleyball Federation make its curriculum and educator staff. And let us provide the academic education. We have realized such a model. We are currently doing it in 22 branches. In this way, we can provide our children with sports and academic education at the same time from an early age. This year, for the first time, we have taken a step towards sports and music in Turkey, in which we will start education at an earlier age. We are starting to establish sports secondary schools. Here, too, there will be a sports secondary school together with the high school. I wish our facility to be beneficial to Trabzon and our country."

THIS WORK SUITED TRABZON VERY WELL

Minister of Youth and Sports Osman Aşkın Bak said, "Trabzon and Akçaabat have gained very valuable work. These types of works contribute a lot to us. I worked in Trabzon for 8 years. Trabzon is a sports city. The Akçaabat Sebat team is also very important to me. We were proud when we saw what the Erdemoğlu Family did. I sincerely congratulate it for its services to the Turkish people. I congratulate İbrahim Erdemoğlu's loyalty to Trabzon. In these facilities, our youth who will represent Turkish sports in the international arena and wave our flag will be trained. This work suited Trabzon very well. May it be beneficial to Trabzon." After the speeches, the opening of the İbrahim Erdemoğlu Sports High School Complex was held with a ribbon cutting. At the end of the program, Vakıfbank Women's Volleyball Team played an exhibition match for the guests. Then the guests toured the sports complex.

THE COMPLEX WAS BUILT ON AN AREA OF 50 THOUSAND SQUARE METERS

The complex, whose foundations were laid in 2022 and built on an area of ​​approximately 50 thousand square meters initially, has a total indoor area of ​​16 thousand 431 square meters. İbrahim Erdemoğlu Sports High School Complex, which was designed to meet the needs of young people and includes laboratories, libraries, and art workshops, was completed in Akçaabat with an investment of approximately 1 billion liras. The complex consists of İbrahim Erdemoğlu Sports High School, İbrahim Erdemoğlu Sports High School Dormitory, İbrahim Erdemoğlu Sports High School Sports Hall, İbrahim Erdemoğlu Sports High School Football Field, Abdi Serdar Üstünsalih Sebat Youth Sports Administrative Building, and Abdi Serdar Üstünsalih Sebat Youth Sports Football Field.