July 17 – The Croatian government has declared the Maksimir (pictured) and Poljud stadiums as sports buildings of national interest, according to a new ‘Law on Sports’ in Croatia allowing the government to designate certain sports buildings as such.
“The number of spectators at football matches and the importance of football in Croatia, as well as the poor state of football infrastructure, which is essential for the further development of sports in Croatia, are the reason why the first sports buildings declared as buildings of national interest, are the football stadiums”, explained the Minister of Tourism and Sports in Croatia, Nikolina Brnjac.
The criteria for declaring sports buildings of national interest were established based on the proposal of the Croatian Olympic Committee, the Croatian Paralympic Committee and the Croatian Sports Association of the Deaf, who proposed the two stadiums, and the sports criteria were proposed by the Croatian Football Association.
Zagreb and Split are the only stadiums with a capacity of more than 20,000 and 30,000 seats respectively, which under UEFA rules belong to its fourth category of stadia. Brnjac said that they are also two stadiums that are symbols of football in Croatia.
The declaration of the stadiums as sports buildings of national interest will enable co-financing of their construction, renovation or reconstruction through an invitational tender, for which funds are provided in the state budget.
The government said it will continue to invest in sports infrastructure and, if necessary, it will be able to declare other sports buildings as sports buildings of national interest.
“Not only national but also European funds will be available for investment, such as an integrated territorial program, through which all interested cities will be able to request co-financing for the renovation of sports infrastructure in accordance with their priorities,” said Brnjac.
Contact the writer of this story, Aleksander Krassimirov, at moc.l1716088277labto1716088277ofdlr1716088277owedi1716088277sni@o1716088277fni1716088277