Gradski Vrt Stadium

Gradski vrt Stadium (Croatian: Stadion Gradski vrt, lit. 'City Garden 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.

Gradski vrt Stadium
Stadion Gradski vrt
The stadium on a matchday in 2019
Full nameGradski vrt Stadium
LocationNovi grad, Osijek, Croatia
Coordinates45°32′42″N 18°41′45″E
OwnerCity of Osijek
OperatorNK Osijek
Capacity17,061[1]
Field size106 × 69 m
SurfaceGrass
Construction
Opened1980
Renovated2005, 2010
Tenants
NK Osijek (1980–2023)
Croatia national football team (1996–2022)

History

Construction started in 1949, but works were stopped several times. The first match played on the ground of Gradski Vrt was played between NK Osijek and FK Sloboda Tuzla on 7 September 1958. In 1980, the stadium was officially opened.

In 1982, the record of stadium attendance was broken, on the football match between NK Osijek and Dinamo Zagreb. At that match, there were 40,000 attendants. The result was 1–2.

In 1998 seats and reflectors were installed. In 2005, the stadium was renovated. Under the west stand, VIP rooms were set and the lodge was rearranged, adding 1,000 new seats. The athletics track was reconstructed, repainted from red to blue. After this renovation, the stadium has fulfilled UEFA's stadium criteria. In the same year, the stadium was a part of Croatia and Hungary's failed bid for the 2012 European Football Championship. At that time a project of a new stadium with a larger capacity was presented.

In 2010, the stadium was again repaired: the pitch was relaid, fences were painted and the seats were numbered. The reason was a friendly match between Croatia and Wales, which was held on 23 May that year.

In May 2016, the stadium hosted the Croatian Cup final.

Future
See also: New NK Osijek Stadium

In April 2018, NK Osijek president Ivan Meštrović released plans for a new stadium for the club.[2] A new state of the art stadium will be built at the Pampas neighbourhood in Osijek as part of the new NK Osijek training centre. The capacity of the new stadium will be 13,000, with all of the seats covered. The stadium will be UEFA category four and is supposed to be finished in Autumn 2022. During the stadium construction, NK Osijek will play their home games at the current stadium, which is in the future going to be used as the main stadium for the NK Osijek B squad.

International fixtures
Date Competition Opponent Score Att. Ref
Croatia (1990–present)
10 April 1996 Friendly  Hungary 4–1 10,287
22 April 1998 Friendly  Poland 4–1 16,000
24 March 2001 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification  Latvia 4–1 13,345
7 September 2002 UEFA Euro 2004 qualification  Estonia 0–0 10,766
28 May 2006 Friendly  Iran 2–2 20,000
23 May 2010 Friendly  Wales 2–0 10,482
16 October 2012 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification  Wales 2–0 17,500
31 May 2014 Friendly  Mali 2–1 15,212
13 October 2014 UEFA Euro 2016 qualification  Azerbaijan 6–0 16,021
23 March 2016 Friendly  Israel 2–0 10,545
8 June 2018 Friendly  Senegal 2–1 15,998
8 June 2019 UEFA Euro 2020 qualification  Wales 2–1 17,061
11 October 2021 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification  Slovakia 2–2 9,926
3 June 2022 2022–23 UEFA Nations League  Austria 0–3 13,994
  • West stand (before 2005 renovation)
    West stand (before 2005 renovation)
  • East stand (after 2005 renovation).
    East stand (after 2005 renovation).

References
  1. "Prepuni Gradski vrt, 17.061". sportalo.hr.
  2. ""PRESTALI SMO SANJATI, POČELI SMO ŽIVJETI!"". NK Osijek official website.
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