HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Maksimir Stadium ( hr, Stadion Maksimir, ) is a multi-use stadium in
Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Slov ...
, Croatia. It takes its name from the surrounding neighbourhood of
Maksimir Maksimir () is one of the districts of Zagreb, Croatia, population 48,902 (2011 census). Maksimir stadium and Maksimir Park are located in it. It was named for Bishop Maksimilijan Vrhovac. The urban center of the Maksimir district is located aro ...
. The venue is primarily the home of
Dinamo Zagreb Građanski nogometni klub Dinamo Zagreb ( en, Dinamo Zagreb Citizens' Football Club, link=yes, italics=yes), commonly referred to as GNK Dinamo Zagreb or simply Dinamo Zagreb (), is a Croatian professional football club based in Zagreb. Dinamo ...
, the top club of the country with 23 league titles, but it is also the home venue of the
Croatia national football team The Croatia national football team ( hr, Hrvatska nogometna reprezentacija) represents Croatia in international football matches. It is governed by the Croatian Football Federation (HNS), the governing body for football in Croatia. It is a ...
. First opened in 1912, it has undergone many revamps, and its current layout dates from a 1997 rebuilding. The stadium also sometimes hosts other events such as
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
concerts.


History


The construction and the early years

With the rising popularity of the sport in Zagreb, the local football club
HAŠK HAŠK ''(full name Hrvatski akademski športski klub, en, Croatian Academic Sports Club)'' was a Croatian football club established in Zagreb in 1903 which ceased operating in 1945. The club was one of the most successful sides in Zagreb and th ...
, which was one of the first
multi-sports club A sports club or sporting club, sometimes an athletics club or sports society or sports association, is a group of people formed for the purpose of playing sports. Sports clubs range from organisations whose members play together, unpaid, and ...
in Croatia, decided to build a new stadium for their club. They bought the ground in the Svetice neighbourhood in
Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Slov ...
, which lays on the opposite side of the
Maksimir Park Maksimir Park is the oldest public park in Zagreb, Croatia. It forms part of the city's cultural heritage and is a habitat for many different plant and animal species. History Founded in 1787, Maksimir Park was the first large public park in S ...
, from the
Archdiocese of Zagreb The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Zagreb ( hr, Zagrebačka nadbiskupija, la, Archidioecesis Zagrebiensis) is the central archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Croatia, centered in the capital city Zagreb. It is the metropolitan see of Croatia, an ...
. HAŠK built a wooden stand with a capacity of 6,000, which was also the first ground with a proper stand in Zagreb at that time. The stadium was opened on 5 May 1912, and at the opening ceremony of the new stadium, HAŠK and their city rival,
HŠK Građanski Zagreb HŠK Građanski (alternatively spelled ''Gradjanski'' or ''Gradanski''), also known as 1. HŠK Građanski or fully ''Prvi hrvatski građanski športski klub'' ( en, First Croatian Citizens' Sports Club), was a Croatian football club established in ...
, played several friendly matches to commemorate the opening. Due to the close relationship and alliance of
HAŠK HAŠK ''(full name Hrvatski akademski športski klub, en, Croatian Academic Sports Club)'' was a Croatian football club established in Zagreb in 1903 which ceased operating in 1945. The club was one of the most successful sides in Zagreb and th ...
and
HŠK Građanski Zagreb HŠK Građanski (alternatively spelled ''Gradjanski'' or ''Gradanski''), also known as 1. HŠK Građanski or fully ''Prvi hrvatski građanski športski klub'' ( en, First Croatian Citizens' Sports Club), was a Croatian football club established in ...
and the latter one playing at the
Stadion Koturaška Stadion Koturaška, also referred to as Građanski Stadium ( hr, Igralište Građanskog) was a football stadium in Zagreb, Croatia. It was located at Koturaška Road ( hr, Koturaška cesta) in today's Trnje neighbourhood and was home to the footb ...
, which was in a poor state, Građanski also started playing their home matches at the new Stadium Maksimir. On 26 May 1941, a representative of the Ustashe fascist government of the
Independent State of Croatia The Independent State of Croatia ( sh, Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, NDH; german: Unabhängiger Staat Kroatien; it, Stato indipendente di Croazia) was a World War II-era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. It was established in p ...
addressed young Zagreb students at their meeting at the Maksimir Stadium, and at one point ordered the Serbian and Jewish students to be segregated, but the children disobeyed. Soon afterwards, in June 1941, rebel youths burned the stadium down. In 1977, a movie ''
Operation Stadium ''Operation Stadium'' (Serbo-Croatian: ''Akcija stadion'') is a 1977 Croatian film directed by Dušan Vukotić. Cast * Igor Galo - Kruno * Franjo Majetić - Stric Luka * Zvonimir Črnko - Lujo Verdar * Božidar Alić - Ferko * Zvonko Lepeti ...
'' was made to commemorate the segregation incident.


After World War II and the development

After
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, HAŠK and Građanski got dissolved by the newly established communist regime of
Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
and a new club, FD Dinamo Zagreb, inherited the clubs' colours, honours and the ground and is, therefore, the direct successor of
HAŠK HAŠK ''(full name Hrvatski akademski športski klub, en, Croatian Academic Sports Club)'' was a Croatian football club established in Zagreb in 1903 which ceased operating in 1945. The club was one of the most successful sides in Zagreb and th ...
and
HŠK Građanski Zagreb HŠK Građanski (alternatively spelled ''Gradjanski'' or ''Gradanski''), also known as 1. HŠK Građanski or fully ''Prvi hrvatski građanski športski klub'' ( en, First Croatian Citizens' Sports Club), was a Croatian football club established in ...
. When the
UEFA Euro 1976 The 1976 UEFA European Football Championship final tournament was held in Yugoslavia. This was the fifth UEFA European Championship, held every four years and endorsed by UEFA. The final tournament took place between 16 and 20 June 1976. Only f ...
final tournament was held in
Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
, Maksimir hosted the
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
v.
Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...
semi-final match and the Netherlands v.
Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
third place match. Maksimir was the central venue for the
1987 Summer Universiade The 1987 Summer Universiade, also known as the XIV Summer Universiade, took place in Zagreb, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia. It involved participants from 111 countries and over 6,000 individual sportspersons and members of teams. Infrastructural cha ...
hosted by the city of Zagreb. In 1990, several events happened at Maksimir. On 13 May, the Dinamo Zagreb–Red Star Belgrade riot took place, an infamous riot involving Dinamo Zagreb and Red Star Belgrade supporters. The last match of the Yugoslavia national football team was hosted at Maksimir on 3 June. On 17 October of the same year, Croatia played the United States in what was
Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...
's first match in the modern era.


In modern times

In 1998, plans were made for a massive renovation, and the first phase started the same year. The old northern stand was demolished and a new one built within a year. This renovation increased Maksimir's
seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...
to 38,079. After 1992, for 16 years the Croatian football team had a proud unbeaten record at this stadium in any competitive match, however, on 10 September 2008 (two years after suffering a 2–0 defeat at the same venue)
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
became the first team to beat Croatia in Zagreb, winning 4–1, ending a thirty match undefeated streak. In the summer of 2011, a little, but much needed "facelifting" was made on the stadium. All seats were replaced, a new drainage system, under-soil heating and automatic watering were installed along with a new turf, the athletic track was covered with blue artificial grass and all brick surfaces were covered in blue cloth.


2020 earthquake

The earthquake, which happened on the morning of 22 March 2020, damaged the structural stability of the stadium. After an inspection by a structural engineer, the Maksimir stadium was deemed "temporarily unusable". The eastern stand, which is also the biggest single stand by capacity, took the most damage and is awaiting the final decision following a detailed building inspection. While waiting, Dinamo is allowed to host matches on the Maksimir stadium, but with the eastern stand being closed for viewers.


Capacity per sector

Four stands (8 sectors) contribute to the total
seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...
of 35,423: 25.912 after east stand damage. *North stand (up): 4,510 *North stand (down): 4,950 *North stand (VIP): 300 *West stand (up): 5,101 *West stand (down): 6,369 *West stand (VIP): 748 *East stand: 9,514 - closed due to damage from the earthquake *South stand: 3,931


International matches


Concerts

The stadium has also been used as the venue for some big concerts, including: *On 5 September 1990,
David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
performed a sold-out concert as a part of his
Sound+Vision Tour In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...
(1990). *In 2000, Zlatan Stipišić Gibonni performed a concert in front of 32,000 people, promoting his album '' Judi, zviri i beštimje ''(2000). *On 22 June 2005,
Bijelo Dugme Bijelo Dugme (trans. ''White Button'') was a Yugoslav rock band, formed in Sarajevo, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1974. Bijelo Dugme is widely considered to have been the most popular band ever to exist in the former Socialist Federal Republic ...
performed a reunion concert for a crowd of 70,000 people on their Tour 2005. (2005). *On 17 June 2007,
Marko Perković Marko Perković (; born 27 October 1966) is a Croatian musician who has been the lead singer of the band Thompson since 1991. Perković was born in the village of Čavoglave, SR Croatia, within SFR Yugoslavia, today a part of Croatia. He parti ...
Thompson Thompson may refer to: People * Thompson (surname) * Thompson M. Scoon (1888–1953), New York politician Places Australia *Thompson Beach, South Australia, a locality Bulgaria * Thompson, Bulgaria, a village in Sofia Province Canada * ...
performed a concert for a crowd of 70,000 people as a part of his Bilo jednom u Hrvatskoj Tour (2007). *On 9 and 10 August 2009, U2 performed two sold-out concerts for 124,012 people as a part of their
U2 360° Tour The U2 360° Tour was a worldwide concert tour by rock band U2. Staged in support of the group's 2009 album ''No Line on the Horizon'', the tour visited stadiums from 2009 through 2011. The concerts featured the band playing "in the round" o ...
(2009-2011). *On 8 June 2011, Bon Jovi performed a concert for a crowd of 33,698 people as a part of their Bon Jovi Live Tour, which supports the band's sixth compilation album, '' The Greatest Hits''. (2011). *On 11 June 2012, Madonna was scheduled to perform a concert as a part of her
MDNA Tour The MDNA Tour was the ninth concert tour by American singer Madonna, launched in support of her twelfth studio album, '' MDNA'' (2012). Comprising 88 shows, the tour began on May 31, 2012, in Tel Aviv's Ramat Gan Stadium and concluded in Cór ...
, but the concert was cancelled due to logistic reasons. *On 23 May 2013, Depeche Mode was scheduled to perform a concert as a part of their
Delta Machine Tour The Delta Machine Tour was a worldwide concert tour by English electronic music band Depeche Mode in support of the group's 13th studio album, ''Delta Machine'', released 22 March 2013. Following a warm-up show in Nice, France on 4 May 2013, th ...
, but the concert was changed to the
Arena Zagreb The Arena Zagreb is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Zagreb, Croatia. The site also includes a building complex, the Arena Complex (Arena Center), making it one of the largest shopping-entertainment centers in the city. The arena is used fo ...
due to logistic reasons. *On 13 August 2013,
Robbie Williams Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, and achieved commercial success after launching a solo career in 1996. His debut stud ...
performed a concert in front of 45,000 people, featuring
Olly Murs Oliver Stanley Murs (born 14 May 1984) is an English singer, songwriter, and television presenter. He was runner-up on the sixth series of '' The X Factor'' in 2009 and was subsequently signed to RCA Records and Sony Music in the United Kingdom ...
as his opening act, as a part of
Take the Crown Stadium Tour The Take the Crown Stadium Tour was a concert tour by British singer-songwriter Robbie Williams in promotion of his ninth studio album ''Take the Crown (album), Take the Crown'' The tour was his first solo tour since the Close Encounters Tour ( ...
(2013).


Renovation plans

According to the 1998 plans, renovation was to include lowering the lawn and making the "ring" round the pitch in the place of running track and thus gain 16,000 new seats with the annex to the south stand with the final addition of a modern roof structure. Maksimir was to have 60,000 comfortable sitting places and was to be an exclusively football stadium like many others in Europe. It has additionally been planned to build: new premises for Club's Management, Elegant "Blue Lounge", Big "Trophy room", football school premises, changing room, coach staff room, sports hall with gym, out patient clinic, restaurant, luxury hotel ("A" category) with 46 beds for visiting teams special importance will be given to the building which will connect west stand to the north stand. By this, all the conditions for hosting and organizing big European matches would be fulfilled, including UEFA offices, press club, press center, V.I.P. hospitality, etc. With that, the venue was to be one of the best equipped stadiums in Europe. However, in the beginning of the 2000s, the renovations were suspended. As of December 2007, the public was awaiting the presentation of new stadium, and in 2008 city government presented two potential stadiums, new Maksimir and Vulkan (Volcano) which is supposed to be built on another location (Kajzerica) in Zagreb and old Maksimir should then be knocked down, the citizens were to choose which one they want on the referendum predicted to take place somewhere in the near future. However, the city government never made any progress with referendum or these plans and the stadium remains to be a problem to the city for a decade now. There were talks, again, in 2018, after Croatia's historic success at the World Cup, that the stadium was going to be demolished and a new state of the art stadium would be built on the same place. In 2019, Dinamo Zagreb announced that they will demolish Maksimir and build a completely new stadium on their own, without the help of the Croatian Government, but needed the confirmation from the governing body of Zagreb and its mayor, Milan Bandić. Shortly after, it was announced that Dinamo Zagreb and the City of Zagreb will go in a joint collaboration to build a new stadium. The new stadium was supposed to be built on the ground of the current Maksimir Stadium and it should have had a capacity of 30,000 spectators. The stadium would have had a garage, shopping centre, hotel and several fan corners. After the
2020 Zagreb earthquake At approximately 6:24 AM CET on the morning of 22 March 2020, an earthquake of magnitude 5.3 , 5.5 , hit Zagreb, Croatia, with an epicenter north of the city centre. The maximum felt intensity was VII–VIII (''Very strong'' to ''Damaging'') ...
, the talks were, once again, put on hold. Between 1997 and 2015, a total of HRK 800 million (c. €108 million) has been spent renovating the stadium. As of October 2022, Marko Milić (the representor of the Croatian government), has guaranteed that there will be a new Maksimir built with help of the government and the city of Zagreb.


Kajzerica proposal

Stadion Kajzerica was a proposed new football stadium to be built in the Kajzerica neighborhood in
Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Slov ...
, intended to replace Stadion Maksimir as the home of the
Croatia national football team The Croatia national football team ( hr, Hrvatska nogometna reprezentacija) represents Croatia in international football matches. It is governed by the Croatian Football Federation (HNS), the governing body for football in Croatia. It is a ...
and
Dinamo Zagreb Građanski nogometni klub Dinamo Zagreb ( en, Dinamo Zagreb Citizens' Football Club, link=yes, italics=yes), commonly referred to as GNK Dinamo Zagreb or simply Dinamo Zagreb (), is a Croatian professional football club based in Zagreb. Dinamo ...
. The design competition for the new stadium was won by architect Hrvoje Njirić in May 2008. The winning design, nicknamed The Blue Volcano ( hr, Plavi vulkan) by the press, would have a capacity of 55,000 and would include a blue-coloured polycarbonate dome exterior and a cloud-like structure suspended above the stadium covered in photovoltaic panels. The project had originally been intended to go ahead after it gained approval in a public referendum in which citizens of Zagreb would vote whether they would rather have the current Stadion Maksimir torn down and re-built in the same location (which would cost at least 264 million
euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...
s, according to offers submitted by construction companies) or replaced by an entirely new stadium at Kajzerica (whose construction cost is still unknown). According to the initial plan, the first option would include building a smaller venue at Kajzerica between 2009 and 2011, which would then be used to host Dinamo Zagreb's matches while Maksimir stadium is undergoing rebuilding in the period between 2011 and 2014. The other option would include building the purpose-built 55,000 capacity Blue Volcano at Kajzerica, which would then become the Blues' permanent home. However, the referendum about the stadium, which had originally been scheduled for June 2008, was postponed several times since and has not been held. In October 2012, the project was abandoned, to be briefly revived in 2013 with an eye to a possible
UEFA Euro 2020 The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2020) or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe ...
bid, and again in 2018, following Croatia's historic success in the
World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...
.


References


External links


GNK Dinamo Zagreb official website

GNK Dinamo Zagreb stadium
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maksimir Sports venues in Zagreb Football venues in Croatia
Stadion Maksimir Maksimir Stadium ( hr, Stadion Maksimir, ) is a multi-use stadium in Zagreb, Croatia. It takes its name from the surrounding neighbourhood of Maksimir. The venue is primarily the home of Dinamo Zagreb, the top club of the country with 23 le ...
UEFA Euro 1976 stadiums National stadiums Athletics (track and field) venues in Croatia Football venues in Yugoslavia Athletics (track and field) venues in Yugoslavia Sports venues completed in 1912 Music venues completed in 1912 1912 establishments in Croatia Maksimir