Stožice Sports Park () is a multi-use sports complex in

Ljubljana {{Infobox settlement , name = Ljubljana , official_name = , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = {{multiple image , border = infobox , perrow = 1/2/2/1 , total_widt ...

, Slovenia, that hosts basketball and football departments of sports club Olimpija Ljubljana. The sports park is located in Bežigrad District, north of the city centre and next to the highway bypass.

History

The inaugural event was held on 10 August 2010, when Arena Stožice hosted a

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

match between

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

and

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, which was won by Spain 79–72 after

overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society) ...

. The next day,

Stožice Stadium Stožice Stadium () is a multi-purpose stadium located in Ljubljana, Slovenia. It was designed by Sadar + Vuga architects and is the biggest football stadium in the country. It lies in the Bežigrad district, north of the city centr ...

hosted a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

match between

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, won by Slovenia 2–0. The stadium and the arena are used as main venues of Slovenian national teams in football, basketball and

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball, Olympic handball or indoor handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of thr ...

, and as venues for concerts and other culture events.

Construction

Construction of the venue commenced in June 2009 and was completed in August 2010. The complex was built at an estimated cost of €119 million (of which €9 million was provided by the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

), with €55 million spent on the stadium and the remaining €64 million on the arena. In addition to the arena and stadium, the complex was also to encompass a large shopping centre, however, the latter was never constructed due to lack of funding and is currently without a clear timeline for completion. Further controversy arose in March 2011, when it was revealed that the European Commission had demanded of the

Government of Slovenia The Government of the Republic of Slovenia () exercises executive (government), executive authority in Slovenia pursuant to the Constitution of Slovenia, Constitution and the laws of Slovenia. It is also the highest administrative authority in Slo ...

to produce a report on the bidding process, alleging that the process for obtaining EC funds had been rigged in a way which positioned this particular project as the only in Slovenia to qualify for said funds. A month later, Slovenia's Office for Local Self-Government and Regional Policy completed the revision of the bidding process and reported certain irregularities.

References

External links

Project details
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stozice Sports Park Football venues in Slovenia Sports venues in Ljubljana Bežigrad District 2010 establishments in Slovenia Sports venues completed in 2010 Basketball venues in Slovenia Handball venues in Slovenia 21st-century architecture in Slovenia