Opus Arena

Last updated
Opus Arena
Stadion NK Osijek
Opus arena logo.png
Pampas Stadium 032023.jpg

UEFA Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg

Opus Arena
Croatia relief map.png
Red pog.svg
Osijek
Location in Croatia
Europe relief laea location map.jpg
Red pog.svg
Osijek
Location in Europe
Full nameOpus Arena
Address Osijek
Croatia
Location Retfala, Osijek, Croatia
Coordinates 45°33′59″N18°39′27″E / 45.56639°N 18.65750°E / 45.56639; 18.65750
Owner NK Osijek Football Academy
Operator NK Osijek
Capacity 13,005 [1]
Field size105 × 68 metres
Surface Hybrid grass
Construction
Broke groundDecember 2017 [2]
Opened01 July 2023 [3]
Construction cost €65 million [4]
ArchitectSirrah Projekt d.o.o.
Main contractorsOsijek Asfalt d.o.o.
Eurokamen d.o.o.
Strabag d.o.o. [5] [6]
Tenants
NK Osijek (2023–present)
Croatia national football team (2023–present)

Opus Arena is a football stadium in Osijek, Slavonia, Croatia, in the city's Pampas district. Its seating capacity of 13,005 makes it the fourth-largest stadium in Croatia. The stadium is used by NK Osijek and the Croatia national football team for both domestic and international competitions.

Contents

Built from 2017 to 2023, the stadium was informally known as the "Pampas Stadium" before securing sponsorship from Hungarian asset management firm Opus Global. It was constructed for local club team NK Osijek as a successor precinct Gradski Vrt Stadium. For UEFA and FIFA competitions, it is known as Stadion NK Osijek, due to limits on corporate sponsorships. The country's national team is slated open its qualifying for UEFA Euro 2024 in the stadium in 2023.

Financed at an estimated €65 million by NK Osijek, Opus Global and a grant from the Hungarian government, Opus Arena is the first to cover its entire seating capacity. The precinct also acts as the training base of the club, with seven football pitches adjoining the stadium.

History

The project was officially announced on 19 April 2018, in the Osijek movie theater "Urania", by the former president of the club Ivan Meštrović. [7]

Early enabling works on the site began in late 2017, when the site preparation was carried out. The plot was raised by 1.5 meter through additional landfill. With the site spanning 15.3 hectares, this represented thousands of truckloads. In April 2019, within a month, 1,000 piles (each 12 meters deep) were inserted into the ground, ensuring future stability of the stadium. [8]

In November 2019, the most famous NK Osijek player and former Croatian Football Federation president Davor Šuker announced a symbolic €1 million contribution from the federation to the project. [9]

On March 27, 2023, the new stadium and training camp of the Osijek Football Club received a valid use permit for the construction of a sports and recreational building - the Football School and Stadium of NK Osijek. [10] In the next phase, until the official opening of only the stadium and the training camp, there will be the furnishing of the interior rooms and the sowing of grass, i.e. the installation of artificial surfaces on the auxiliary fields. [11]

In June 2023, the Croatian Football Federation confirmed that the national team will open its qualifying for UEFA Euro 2024 in the stadium against Turkey. They lost their opening game against Turkey.

Specifications

The size of the precinct is 15.3 hectares. [7] There are 750 parking spaces available to the public and 150 VIP parking spaces. It is a Category 4 UEFA stadium. [12]

The initial project included boxes in the West Stand, which included beds, saunas and Jacuzzis. At the beginning of 2022, the club representatives announced that the West Stand won't feature saunas and jacuzzis, as originally planned. Instead, the initially planned area has been reduced and is being used as a hotel and training area for players. Also, due to the reduction of the mentioned area, the total capacity of the stadium rose from 12,750 to 13,005. The adjoining camp has seven heated pitches and entertainment facilities for players. [13]

View from southeast, 2023 Stadion NK Osijeka na Pampasu.jpg
View from southeast, 2023

The stadium has an official capacity of 13,005, which can be extended to 14,750 and is the first all-covered stadium in the country. Roughly 550 seats are of higher standard, of which 100 spread across 7 skyboxes. The roof (188x150m) stretches outside the stadium, ensuring shade or rain protection and making it a more friendly public area. Hovering 22.5 meters above ground, it is the landmark element. The stadium's facade is translucent, ensuring sufficient sunlight access by day to facilities beneath the stands. Divided into 12 horizontal rings, the facade is illuminated in varying colours, making the stadium attractive by night. [14]

International matches

DateCompetitionOpponentScoreAtt.Ref
Croatia national football team
12 October 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Flag of Turkey.svg  Turkey 0–112,812 [15]
Croatia women's national football team
23 February 2024 2023–24 UEFA Women's Nations League B - Promotion play-offs Flag of Norway.svg  Norway

    See also

    Related Research Articles

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerko Leko</span> Croatian football manager

    Jerko Leko is a Croatian professional football manager and former player, who is the current manager of the second-tier Druga HNL club Jarun. He primarily played as a central midfielder, but could also operate as a right one, or more defensively, as a right-back.

    Nogometni klub Osijek, commonly referred to as NK Osijek or simply Osijek, is a Croatian professional football club from Osijek. Founded in 1947, it was the club from Slavonia with the most seasons in the Yugoslav First League and, after the independence of Croatia in 1992, it is one of the four clubs that have never been relegated from the Croatian First League, the others being Dinamo Zagreb, Hajduk Split and Rijeka.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Stadion Maksimir</span> Multi-use stadium in Zagreb, Croatia

    Maksimir Stadium is a multi-use stadium in Zagreb, Croatia. Named after the surrounding neighbourhood of Maksimir, it is one of the largest stadiums in the country with a current seating capacity of 25,912 and a maximum possible capacity of 35,423. It is the home stadium of Croatian club Dinamo Zagreb and has been used since 1990 by the Croatia national football team for the majority of international competitions.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Stadion Kantrida</span> Croatian football stadium

    Kantrida Stadium is a football stadium in the Croatian city of Rijeka. It is named after the Kantrida neighbourhood in which it is located, in the western part of the city. It has served as the home of the HNK Rijeka football club for most years since at least 1918. The stadium has a distinctive appearance as it is situated between steep cliffs, a remnant of an old quarry, just north of the stadium and the shore of the Adriatic on its south side.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Gradski Vrt Stadium</span> Football stadium in Osijek, Croatia

    Gradski vrt Stadium is a multi-use stadium in Osijek, Croatia. It is located in the Gradski vrt neighbourhood in Novi grad city district. With a capacity of 17,061, it has been the home ground of two Croatian football clubs, NK Osijek and Fortuna VNO Osijek.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Stadion Kranjčevićeva</span> Multi-purpose stadium in Zagreb, Croatia

    Stadion u Kranjčevićevoj ulici, also known as Stadion Concordije between 1921 and 1945, is a multi-purpose stadium located in Trešnjevka neighbourhood, in the Croatian capital of Zagreb. It is mainly used for football matches and was historically the home ground of NK Zagreb until their eviction from the ground in 2018. More recently the stadium has been the home ground for Croatian First League side NK Lokomotiva. In addition, NK Rudeš use the stadium for selected matches, particularly Croatian First League games.

    Davor Vugrinec is a Croatian former professional footballer. He primarily played as a striker, but also operated as an attacking midfielder or a second striker. He is all-time top scorer of the Croatian First Football League with 146 goals he has scored for five different clubs and also the oldest player to score a goal in the league, netting for Slaven Belupo 10 days before his 40th birthday.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Sergej Jakirović</span> Bosnian football manager (born 1976)

    Sergej Jakirović is a Bosnian professional football manager and former player who is the manager of Croatian Football League club Dinamo Zagreb.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Stadion Rujevica</span> Stadium in Rijeka, Croatia

    Stadion Rujevica, officially known as Stadion HNK Rijeka, is a stadium in the city of Rijeka, Croatia. The stadium is commonly referred to as Rujevica after its location. From August 2015, the stadium is a temporary home ground for HNK Rijeka during construction of the new Stadion Kantrida. The stadium is part of the training camp used by the club's youth academy, which includes four additional fields. Once the new Kantrida is built, the stadium will be used as the club's training ground.

    Alen Petrović is a Croatian former football defender and sporting director.

    Gordan Ciprić is a Croatian football manager and former player who is the assistant manager to Robert Prosinečki with the Montenegro national team.

    The 2020–21 Croatian First Football League was the 30th season of the Croatian First Football League, the top national championship for men's association football teams in Croatia, since its establishment in 1992. The season started on 14 August 2020 and finished on 22 May 2021.

    The 2021–22 Croatian First Football League was the 31st season of the Croatian First Football League, the national championship for men's association football teams in Croatia, since its establishment in 1992. Contested by 10 teams, the season started on 16 July 2021 and ended on 21 May 2022. Dinamo Zagreb, the defending champions, successfully defended their title.

    The 2021–22 season was the 111th season in the existence of GNK Dinamo Zagreb and the club's 31st consecutive season in the top flight of Croatian football. In addition to the domestic league, Dinamo Zagreb participated in this season's editions of the Croatian Cup, the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League.

    The 2022–23 season was the 112th season in the existence of GNK Dinamo Zagreb and the club's 32nd consecutive season in the top flight of Croatian football. In addition to the domestic league, Dinamo Zagreb participated in this season's editions of the Croatian Cup, the Croatian Super Cup and the UEFA Champions League.

    Filip Čuić is a Bosnian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Hajduk Split, and Bosnia and Herzegovina U21 national team.

    The 2023–24 Croatian Football League is the 33rd season of the Croatian top division football, the national championship for men's association football teams in Croatia, since its establishment in 1992. The season started on 21 July 2023.

    The 2023–24 season is GNK Dinamo Zagreb's 113th season in existence and 12th consecutive in the Croatian Football League. They are also competing in the Croatian Cup, the Croatian Super Cup, the UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Europa League and the UEFA Europa Conference League.

    Michalis Katsouris was murdered during hooligan riots between a joint coalition of Bad Blue Boys of Dinamo Zagreb and Gate 13 of Panathinaikos who engaged in conflict with AEK Athens supporters.

    References

    1. ↑ "Evo kada će biti gotov najmoderniji stadion u Hrvatskoj, izbačeni jacuzzi i saune za VIP goste" [Here's When the Most Modern Stadium in Croatia Will Be Finished, Jacuzzi and Saunas for VIP Guests]. sportske.jutarnji.hr (in Croatian). Sportske novosti. May 4, 2022. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
    2. ↑ "I Retfala će dobiti novu vizuru". nk-osijek.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 2017-12-14.
    3. ↑ "U subotu otvorene tribine novog stadiona". nk-osijek.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 2023-06-28.
    4. ↑ "S novom sezonom NK Osijek dobit će najmoderniji stadion" [NK Osijek will get the most modern stadium in the new season](PDF). GRAĐEVINAR (in Croatian). 5 June 2023. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
    5. ↑ "Official project board on the site" (in Croatian). Retrieved 2019-04-15.
    6. ↑ "Potpisan Ugovor Sa Strabagom Za Drugu Fazu Izgradnje Stadiona i Kampa" (in Croatian). Retrieved 2021-12-03.
    7. 1 2 "Prestali smo sanjati, počeli smo živjeti!". nk-osijek.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 2020-05-20.
    8. ↑ "Dobili tri građevinske dozvole". nk-osijek.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 2020-05-20.
    9. ↑ "HNS podržao projekt s milijun eura!". nk-osijek.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 2020-05-20.
    10. ↑ "Interview with Ivan Mestrovic, president of NK Osijek". sportske.jutarnji.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 2019-12-30.
    11. ↑ "Stadion na Pampasu dobio uporabnu dozvolu, kreće unutarnje uređenje i otvorenje" [The stadium on Pampas received a use permit, interior design and opening is underway]. SiB.hr (in Croatian). 28 March 2023. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
    12. ↑ "Najviša kategorija UEFA standarda". nk-osijek.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 2020-05-20.
    13. ↑ "VIDEO Još malo pa gotovo: Pogledajte najnovije kadrove nogometnog stadiona u Osijeku". 24sata.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 2022-05-20.
    14. ↑ "Stadion Pampas Project portfolio". nk-osijek.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 2020-07-23.
    15. ↑ "Croatia vs. Turkey" (JSON). Union of European Football Associations. 12 October 2023. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
    This page is based on this Wikipedia article
    Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
    Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.