Zagreb to demolish Dinamo stadium and build a new one

Maksimir stadium (Photo credit: Marko Vrdoljak/Zagreb Tourist Board)

ZAGREB, March 12 (Hina) – The City of Zagreb plans to demolish Dinamo’s football stadium Maksimir and build a new one with a capacity of 30,000 as well as an auxiliary stadium with a capacity of 3,000 to 4,000 and new track and field facilities in the open alongside the swimming complex.

Head of the city’s office for strategic planning and development, Sanja Jerkovic on Wednesday presented the programme for a public tender for the design of the Svetice sports and recreation centre saying that the new stadium would cater for matches at European and global standards, which until now was not the case.

“Seeing that this refers to an exceptionally important city complex, it is important to systematically embark on the construction of a new stadium. Deferring that decision would result in the deterioration of the statics of the existing stadium and impossibility for any refurbishment that could achieve the standards that FIFA and UEFA demand which is why the demolition of the current stadium is unavoidable,” Jerkovic told reporters.

Asked whether the city would be a partner to the Dinamo football club with regard to the construction of the new stadium, Jerkovic said that “Zagreb and Dinamo are inseparable,” while she would not disclose the value of the project.

Today’s meeting was the one of the last regarding preparations for the tender for the Svetice centre which consists of about 32 hectares of land.

Once Maksimir stadium is knocked down, Dinamo will play its home games in Rijeka or in Osijek.