Poljud and Maksimir declared Croatian stadiums of national interest

Poljud stadium (Photo credit: Ballota/(CC BY 3.0)

President of the Croatian Football Federation, Marijan Kustić, and the coach of the Croatian national team, Zlatko Dalić, have welcomed today’s decision by the Croatian government to declare the Maksimir Stadium in Zagreb and the Poljud Stadium in Split as sports facilities of national interest.

The new Sports Law provides the possibility for the government to declare certain sports facilities as sports facilities of national interest, and during today’s session, the government declared the Maksimir and Poljud stadiums as such.

“We are extremely pleased with today’s decision by the Croatian government, which confirms the already announced and firm commitment of the current government to support the construction and renovation of sports infrastructure. 

The construction of Maksimir and the renovation of Poljud are strategically important projects for the future of Croatian football and the two biggest Croatian football clubs, Dinamo and Hajduk. 

Of course, what pleases us the most is that the Croatian national team will finally have the opportunity to play in the two largest Croatian cities on two large, modern, comfortable, and appropriate stadiums. I believe we all agree that the Vatreni have earned this with their globally valuable results, and as the Association, we will fully support these projects. I am further encouraged by the announcement that conditions have been created for investments in sports infrastructure in other cities in partnership with local communities, and therefore, I consider this to be a historic decision that has a capital value for Croatian football and sports in general,” said the president of the Croatian Football Federation, Marijan Kustić, for the HNS website.

By declaring the stadiums in Split and Zagreb as sports facilities of national interest, it will be possible to co-finance their construction, renovation, or reconstruction through a call for proposals, in accordance with the funds provided in the state budget.

“I am extremely happy and emotional about today’s decision by the Croatian government to declare Maksimir and Poljud as sports facilities of national interest, which is the first step towards building a new stadium in Zagreb and renovating the beauty of Poljud. 

Maksimir stadium, home of Dinamo Zagreb (Photo credit: Ex13 / CC BY-SA 3.0)

The Croatian national team has achieved exceptional results on a global scale and has done a lot to promote our country, and this week we have witnessed concrete actions by the government, which, through the donation of land for a football camp and today’s decision for Maksimir and Poljud, has shown respect for our achievements and the role of football in Croatian society. 

I am proud that with our results in recent years, we have prompted the government to make such capital investments because the football camp, the new Maksimir, and the renovated Poljud will be a visible and significant legacy of this great generation led by Captain Modrić,” said Zlatko Dalić, the coach of the national team.

The criteria for declaring sports facilities of national interest were determined based on the proposals of the Croatian Olympic Committee, the Croatian Paralympic Committee, and the Croatian Sports Association for the Deaf, who then proposed these two stadiums as sports facilities of national interest on March 20th of this year.

The Croatian Football Association has prepared an analysis titled “Selection of Sports Facilities of National Interest,” in which they proposed criteria for prioritizing investments in football stadiums. The basic criteria include the number of inhabitants in counties, cities, and municipalities where the sports facility is located, meeting the criteria for hosting matches of the national team and matches of the highest level of international club competitions, which, according to UEFA rules, can only be played in stadiums of the fourth category. One of the fundamental criteria is also the capacity of the sports facility for sporting events or concerts.

Poljud stadium (Photo credit: MaGa/CC license)

The government emphasized in its decision that it will continue to invest in sports infrastructure and, if necessary, declare other sports facilities as sports facilities of national interest. Furthermore, the government stated that not only national but also European funds, such as the Integrated Territorial Program, will be available for investment. Interested cities will be able to request co-financing for the renovation of sports infrastructure according to their priorities.