Stožice Stadium
Zmajevo gnezdo (The Dragon's Nest)
Stožice Stadium in 2016
LocationLjubljana, Slovenia
Coordinates46°4′49.6″N 14°31′27.5″E / 46.080444°N 14.524306°E / 46.080444; 14.524306
OwnerCity Municipality of Ljubljana
OperatorJavni zavod Šport Ljubljana
Capacity16,038 (football)[1][2]
Record attendance16,432 (Slovenia–Kazakhstan, 20 November 2023)
Field size105 by 68 metres (115 by 74 yards)
SurfaceNatural grass
Construction
Broke ground2009
Built2010
Opened11 August 2010
ArchitectSadar + Vuga d.o.o
General contractorGREP d.o.o.
Tenants
Slovenia national football team (2010–present)
NK Olimpija Ljubljana (2010–present)

Stožice Stadium (Slovene: Stadion Stožice) is a multi-purpose stadium located in Ljubljana, Slovenia. It was designed by Slovenian Sadar + Vuga architects and is the biggest football stadium in the country. It is one of two main stadiums in the city and lies in the Bežigrad district, north of the city centre.[2] The stadium is part of the Stožice Sports Park sports complex.

The stadium is the home ground of the football club Olimpija Ljubljana and is the main venue of the Slovenia national football team. In addition to football, the stadium is also intended for cultural events.

History

The stadium was named after the area in which it is located, and the change of the name is possible in the future due to sponsorship rights. Together with an indoor arena, it is a part of the Stožice Sports Park. The stadium building area measures 24.614 square metres.[1] It was constructed in 14 months and was opened on 11 August 2010 in a football friendly match between the national teams of Slovenia and Australia, won by Slovenia 2–0.[3]

The stadium has a capacity of 16,038 seats and is laid out under the plateau of the park. The stadium also has 558 VIP seats and 97 spots for people with disabilities.[1] The stadium's press area can accommodate 210 journalists.[1] As a structure, the stadium is 'sunk' into the park. Only the roof over the stands rises above the plane of the park as a monolithic crater.

For cultural purposes such as music concerts, the stadium capacity is increased to over 20,000.

Football

The stadium is mainly used for football and is the home ground of football club Olimpija Ljubljana. In addition, the stadium is also the home venue of the Slovenia national football team, and has hosted a total of 48 national team matches as of 20 November 2023.[4] In 2021, the stadium was one of the eight hosts of the 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, and also hosted the final match between Germany and Portugal.[5]

Culture

Although the stadium was primarily built for football, it is also intended to host a number of cultural events. The first was a joint project of two comedians, Lado Bizovičar and Jurij Zrnec, entitled Notpadu lajv?!, on 20 September 2010. Over 20,000 people gathered at this event.[1]

Records

On 20 November 2023, 16,432 spectators gathered for the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying match between Slovenia and Kazakhstan, which is the highest attendance of any football match in Slovenia since the country's independence in 1991.[6][7]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Stadion Stožice". sport-ljubljana.si (in Slovenian). Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  2. 1 2 "Stadion" (in Slovenian). NK Olimpija Ljubljana. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  3. ↑ "Kekova četa navdušila 16.135 gledalcev" (in Slovenian). Siol. 10 August 2010. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
  4. ↑ "Stadion Stožice, Ljubljana, football venue". eu-football.info. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
  5. ↑ "V Stožicah še zadnje dejanje EP do 21 let". Delo (in Slovenian). 6 June 2021. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  6. ↑ "Slovenija, lahko si ponosna! V Stožicah padel nov rekord, glejte in se čudite!". Ekipa24.si (in Slovenian). 21 November 2023. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
  7. ↑ "Podatek, ki je ob silnem slavju morda ostal spregledan: Stožice so zdaj reprezentančna trdnjava, padel je rekord" (in Slovenian). Nogomania. 21 November 2023. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
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