Stožice Stadium ( sl, Stadion Stožice) is a multi-purpose stadium located in

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the ar ...

, Slovenia. It was designed by Slovenian Sadar + Vuga architects and is the biggest football stadium in the country. It is one of two main stadiums in the city and lies in the Bežigrad district, north of the city centre. The stadium is part of the Stožice Sports Park sports complex. The stadium is the home ground of the football club Olimpija Ljubljana and is the main venue of the

Slovenia national football team The Slovenia national football team ( sl, Slovenska nogometna reprezentanca) represents Slovenia in men's international football and is controlled by the Football Association of Slovenia, the governing body for football in Slovenia. The squad ...

. In addition to football, the stadium is also intended for cultural events.

History

The stadium was named after the area in which it is located, and the change of the name is possible in the future due to sponsorship rights. Together with an indoor arena, it is a part of the Stožice Sports Park. The stadium building area measures 24.614 square metres. It was constructed in 14 months and was opened on 11 August 2010 in a football friendly match between the national teams of

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, won by Slovenia 2–0. The stadium has a capacity of 16,038 seats and is laid out under the plateau of the park. The stadium also has 558 VIP seats and 97 spots for people with disabilities. The stadium's press area can accommodate 210 journalists. As a structure, the stadium is 'sunk' into the park. Only the roof over the stands rises above the plane of the park as a monolithic crater. For cultural purposes such as music concerts, the stadium capacity is increased to over 20,000.

Football

The stadium is mainly used for football and is the home ground of football club Olimpija Ljubljana. In addition, the stadium is also the home venue of the

, and has hosted a total of 43 national team matches as of 20 November 2022. In 2021, the stadium was one of the eight hosts of the

2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship The 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship (also known as UEFA Under-21 Euro 2021) was the 23rd edition of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship (26th edition if the Under-23 era is also included), the biennial international youth football ch ...

, and also hosted the final match between

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

Culture

Although the stadium was primarily built for football it is also planned to host many cultural events. The first was a joint project of two comedians,

Lado Bizovičar Lado or LADO may refer to: Places * Lado, Burkina Faso, a town in Burkina Faso * Lado, South Sudan, a town in South Sudan, formerly the seat of the Lado Enclave, and Equatoria province * Lado Enclave of the Congo Free State, in modern South Sudan ...

and

Jurij Zrnec Jurij is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Jurij Alschitz (born 1947), theatre director, theatre and acting theorist who has lived in Berlin since 1992 * Jurij Brězan (1916–2006), Sorbian writer * Jurij Cherednikov (born 1964) ...

, that was titled ''Notpadu lajv?!'', on 20 September 2010. Over 20,000 people gathered on this event.

Records

On 11 August 2010, at the stadium opening, 16,135 people gathered for the match between Slovenia and

, which is the highest attendance of any football match in Slovenia since the country's independence in 1991.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stozice Stadium Football venues in Slovenia

Stadium A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...

Music venues in Slovenia Sports venues in Ljubljana Multi-purpose stadiums in Slovenia Music venues completed in 2010 Sports venues completed in 2010 Bežigrad District 2010 establishments in Slovenia

History

Football

Culture

Records

See also

References