Croatian football champion GNK Dinamo Zagreb has unveiled plans for a brand new 34,000-seat stadium that would be located in the same area as its historic Stadion Maksimir home ground.
The Croatian Prva HNL team said the project, estimated to cost €60m and take three years to complete, would include a state-of-the-art stadium with three tiers and fully covered stands.
The arena, which would have a similar capacity to the existing Stadion Maksimir, would also feature extensive hospitality, commercial facilities, media complex, club museum and store. The exterior of the stadium will be decorated with an interlaced mesh dominated by geometric shapes.
The new stadium, located in the Maksimir district, would meet UEFA’s Category 4 requirements, meaning it can host international and major European matches. It would also meet UEFA and FIFA guidelines on accessibility, with the construction of facilities for spectators with disabilities planned.
Plans for the arena have been progressed by prominent Croatian architect Otto Barić and Polymachine. Dinamo said it wishes to engage with the City of Zagreb as a strategic partner, with the images published just weeks after the City of Zagreb announced plans to redevelop the SRC Svetice area of the Croatian capital and replace the Stadion Maksimir.
Dinamo said: “In recent years, we have repeatedly emphasised the need for the club to have a new modern stadium that will raise Dinamo’s future to an even higher level.
“It was emphasised that we want a stadium in Maksimir, a place where club history was created and where thousands of fans celebrated victories, mourned defeats and where in the frozen sequences of legendary victories is written all the emotion that Dinamo fans feel for their club.
“In the moments when our players are writing new eternal chapters of the famous Dinamo, for the first time we present the idea and vision of what we think our home should look like.”
Stadion Maksimir was first opened in 1912 and, as well as being Dinamo’s home since 1948, has hosted many of the Croatian national team’s games. It has undergone extensive renovations on a number of occasions over the decades, but was badly damaged by an earthquake in March 2020 with some parts of the stadium still closed.
The City of Zagreb announced last December that an agreement had been reached with Dinamo to build a new stadium on the site of the historic Stadion Maksimir.
A statement at the time said: “It was agreed that Dinamo would make a final decision at its assembly with clear guidelines defined by FIFA and UEFA standards for the construction of a new stadium at the site of today.
“It was also defined that the project of the new stadium would be built in partnership between the City and GNK Dinamo.
“Following the decision of the Dinamo assembly, further steps can be taken regarding the realisation of this historic project which is extremely important for Dinamo – an icon of Zagreb sport – important for the city of Zagreb, its sports history, for all of Zagreb and sports fans.”
A plan to develop a new stadium for Dinamo and the national team emerged in 2008, only to ultimately be abandoned a few years later.
Dinamo play Villarreal in the Europa League quarter-finals this week having lost the first leg 0-1.
Images: Dinamo Zagreb
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