The concept for the 
Maksimir Stadium
reconstruction has been 
based on the world's most
advanced principles of 
stadium construction.

Maksimir Stadium reconstruction, Zagreb, above (55k) and below (65k).

he Maksimir Stadium is located in the eastern part of the beautiful and often forgotten city of Zagreb. The stadium is part of the very large Svetice recreational and sports complex, to the south of the heavily wooded Maksimir Park. The complex covers an area of 276,440m² just outside the built-up urban space, which forms the cities eastern boundary. It is a part of a significant Green Zone, which passes from Medvednica Mountain in the north towards the south. SRC Svetice, together with Maksimir Park, creates an ideal connection of areas which are assigned to sport, recreation and leisure.

The City Authorities appointed the highly respected Zagreb architects Nikola Filipovic and Branko Kincl to undertake an architectural study, to analyse the current conditions and explore the possibilities for the renovation, expansion and upgrade of the stadium. At the same time they considered opportunities for improving the overall quality of the site and its facilities as a whole. On the basis of the initial work, they developed a program for the implementation of the proposals and a detailed design for the reconstruction of the Maksimir Stadium.

Site Concept

The concept for SRC Svetice proposed various sports and recreational buildings, a hotel, several restaurants and bars, large areas of green space and public parking. The existing sport facilities included a renovated athletic stadium, with a capacity of 3,500-seats covered by a membrane roof, 20 tennis courts with various surfaces, an existing 50-metre open-air swimming pool, basketball, volleyball and handball courts, archery field, boules courts etc.

Site layout (71k).

The new solution proposed a new prefabricated training hall for football, three natural grass practice pitches, and a small stadium to the east of the main stadium. These are to be supported by three artificial grass practice pitches next to the existing football school building; a luxury hotel with 200 to 300 beds; a new indoor Olympic swimming pool (to be located next to the old one) and three indoor tennis courts. The pool area is to have a retractable grandstand, which could be positioned next to either of the pools depending on the specific needs. Given that this is an urban facility that has so far proved to be very popular there is also to be a multi-level underground garage.

Organisational and space constraints suggested that the ideal solution would be for the buildings to be located in the middle part of SRC Svetice, within the framework of a green space. This group of buildings will surround a central 'Sportsman's Square', which is to be the focal point for the overall complex and a central meeting point for that part of City. 

On the northern side, the square is open towards Maksimir Park, whilst the Maksimir Stadium closes off the square to the east. On the southern side there will be the hotel and swimming pools and to the west the indoor tennis courts. Within the Sportsman's Square is a sculpture made in memory of the Dinamo fans killed during the war for Croatian independency in '90 and six pillars, which mark the successes of the Dinamo soccer club. There is also a wall, which artistically represents the history of Croatian sport.

Through the Past

The construction of the sport facilities at SRC Svetice in the Eastern part of the city has been significant over the last century. The first soccer ground was built on the site back in 1912, a project by architects Benedik and Barany, for HASK. The ground had two wooden stands on the west side, with player's locker rooms for football and tennis, located beneath. The tennis courts were located to the west side of the stadium, across from the entrance to the Maksimir Park. A wooden northern stand was constructed later, in 1937 along Maksimirska Street. The original stands from the HASK Stadium were eventually moved to another ground in Zagreb.

The Rally Stadium was built in 1934, in the western part of Svetice, on the same site as the current athletic track. This Stadium also had wooden stands and brick lounges. Unfortunately the stands burned in a fire in 1941, and so there is little evidence left other than the existing entrance pavilion with its lounges.

The construction of a combined soccer and athletic stadium, which forms the basis of the current stadium, was undertaken progressively after the Second World War, from 1948 until 1962. The architects Turina, Neidhart, Erlich and Tusek designed wonderfully elegant structures entirely out of concrete for the West, East and North Stands. These replaced the old HASK's ground and are considered to be of such importance that both the East and West Stands have had to be retained in the new stadium design. The East Stand has to be retained in full without being covered or adapted in any way.

The stadium was last modified for the Universiade Games (World Student Sport Games) between 1986 and 1987. The conversion and reconstruction of Maksimir Stadium into a large scale football-only stadium, lead by the chief architect Branko Kincl, began in 1998. The new stadium home to football club N.K. Dinamo, will eventually have a seating capacity of 60,000.

N.K. Dinamo has played in the European Champions League and has been the Croatian Champions for the last decade. Two practice pitches, the small stadium and the football school building, which date back to 1932, surround the stadium.

Phasing

The reconstruction of the stadium is divided into six phases for financial, constructional and organisational reasons. The rationale for a phased construction sequence was considered to be the only feasible way to build the works and allow games to be played throughout, without interruption. The renovation and reconstruction is being carried out in accordance with the current requirements and regulations of the International Football Federations (UEFA and FIFA), the Croatian regulations, as well as current technical and other regulations, and obligatory standards.

Positive experiences in the field of stadium construction worldwide were also taken into account in the new design. The concept for the stadium's transformation and reconstruction has been based on the world's most advanced principles and experience regarding stadium construction. The stadium complex has been planned as a multi-functional building with sport, shopping, offices and entertainment purposes that will mean that the facility can be in constant use.

The floor area of the completed stadium is to be circa 130,000sq.m, of which the commercial space area will be 37,700sq.m. This is supported by over 300 seats in the restaurants and cafe bars, as well as large numbers of seating places in the catering areas assigned to spectators in the North, West, South and East Stands.

Access

It is possible to approach the stadium from several different directions: north - from Maksimir Street; and west - by a wide pedestrian route. There is also easy access to the stadium for those coming by public transport from all parts of town by bus and tram.

The capacity of the garages and parking places is measured according to the number of spectators and visitors to the shopping and business centre.

New Roof

It is the intention of the architects that the stadium will be covered with a retractable roof, which will be in the latest phase in the construction. The concept design for the roof structure and cladding was carried out by WS Atkins Special Structures Group in Oxford, (Mike Otlet) in close conjunction with architects Kincl and Filipovic. The roof is made of four separate fixed sections, which cover two thirds of the spectators.

Innovative retractable roof design (37k).

The moving roof is in two sections, each 75 metres wide that will span 150 metres across the length of the pitch. The uniqueness of this solution is in its capability to cover either the small stadium or the main stadium depending upon demand. It is possible to cover either the main stadium or a practice pitch with one roof by placing it in different combinations of positions. It is intended that the roof will be cladded with a PTFE coated glass fibre membrane for good transparency and long life.

North Stand

The first phase involved the construction of the new North Stand with a seating capacity of 12,222, built on the site of the demolished old stand. The North Stand houses a large shopping centre with offices, bars, and restaurant. The space under the North Stand has one floor below ground and seven floors above, each with spectacular views over the Maksimir Park. The lower three floors accommodate the shopping centre, and the second and third floors are assigned to office spaces. The commercial area within the Northern Stand is 19,700sq.m. The fourth and fifth floors are used as spectators' entrances to the stand also offering great views of Maksimir Park and Sljeme Mountain. There are also the necessary toilet areas, as well as food and beverage outlets. A pedestrian ramp on the eastern corner, as well as large escalators on the western angle enable the fast and easy access by spectators to the stand with staircase units in the middle section of the building. The specially equipped elevators placed in the middle of staircases can also accommodate and transport the physically challenged.

The reconstruction of the West Stand included the refurbishment of the original West Stand and construction of a new upper stand. Access to the upper stand is made through two staircase towers and four panoramic elevators (two at each tower), which are also suitable for disabled persons. The new upper stand has three upper floors: the third floor is a construction floor; the fourth floor is the VIP floor, with a main lounge area and 24 other smaller lounges with boxes - the total capacity of the boxes is 716. The fifth floor is the spectator's entrance to the upper stand with toilets, food and beverage zones. The total capacity of the West Stand is 13,715-seated. In the North East corner is located a large link block connecting the North and West Stands. Within this block are located the offices and restaurants for UEFA organization. The rectangular office space is divided diagonally by a large atrium like access space with escalators to assist spectator movement. The commercial area within the West Stand is 9,886sq.m.

South Stand

It is intended that the existing middle section of the South Stand be rebuilt with a new upper stand. The capacity of the South Stand is to be 9,255-seated. With three floors beneath to be used by the soccer club. There will also be rooms for the sporting and technical requirement parts of the club in the ground floor. The second and third floors are planned for the clubs management, players' day residence and a hotel for the players. The third and fourth floors are for the spectators with all the necessary services. Vertical circulation is to be accomplished by four staircases with elevators. The commercial area within the South Stand is 1,000sq.m. The Southern Stand has a photovoltaic fa‡ade, which will provide the energy supply for the stadium. Besides that, the South Stand is organisationally prepared and equipped for an open space auditorium with 9,255-seats, which is a convenient size for different cultural and other events.

East Stand

The Eastern Stand, which has seating on both sides, remains the same. The capacity is 10,277 looking towards the main pitch and 5,000 for the small stadium, all of which can be covered with the same sliding roof. A gallery space is provided for the food and beverage outlets. The storage areas are housed on the ground floor. A small commercial area is also located off the East Stand which is 3,000sq.m. The football school building is located beside the East Stand.

Lower Stands

The construction of the new lower stands and reconstruction of the sports-field is a fourth phase project. The sports-field will have a new grass surface, and it is anticipated that it will potentially have something like the GreenTech ITM or Desso DLW Grassmaster systems, with a new drainage and heating system. The capacity of the new lower stands is 16,000.

The West lower stand has space assigned to the visiting clubs locker rooms, referee rooms, delegate's rooms and a sports clinic. There is also a gym with indoor swimming pool, whirlpools, saunas, lockers, bar and offices. Storage areas are located under the northern and eastern lower stands and there will be a garage under the southern lower stand. The lower stands commercial space will be 8,000sq.m.

The completion of the renovation and reconstruction of the Maksimir Stadium as a central place of sport for the SRC Svetice complex, will classify it as one of the most contemporary, multi-purpose sports buildings of the generation.

The multi-functional concept, contents and capacities of this complex, ensure that this sport-business-shopping centre offers visitors a whole day's attraction, and makes it autonomous with its economic activity and function as a business. Zagreb, the city with a thousand-year-old history, will have a new multi-functional building for the new millennium. 

Chief architect for the Maksimir Stadium project is Professor Branko Kincl, Institute of Architecture, University of Zagreb.