Boban responds to Dinamo fans’ opposition to new Maksimir stadium design

(Photo: Grad Zagreb)

Dinamo Zagreb president Zvonimir Boban has responded to criticism from the club’s Bad Blue Boys supporters’ group over the winning design for the new Maksimir stadium.

The Bad Blue Boys said on Sunday that they could not support the design selected in the international architectural competition, arguing that it did not reflect some of the key principles previously put forward by the club’s supporters.

Boban said he had personally voted in favour of the winning proposal by Milan-based VG13 Architects, but added that he could not ignore the views of the majority of Dinamo supporters.

In a statement published by Dinamo on Sunday evening, Boban recalled the long-standing hopes of supporters for a new home at Maksimir and the steps taken by the Croatian Government, City of Zagreb and other institutions to make the project possible.

After 88 entries from around the world were submitted to the international competition, the jury unanimously selected the proposal by VG13 Architects as the winner.

Boban said the professional jury had judged the project to be the strongest in terms of urban planning, architecture and historical identity.

“With the responsibility and belief that I was acting in the best interests of the future of our club, I voted, like all other members of the jury, for this design,” Boban said.

He added that he continued to stand by that decision, but stressed that his was only one opinion within the Dinamo community.

“What is an indisputable truth is that a large majority of you, Dinamo supporters, believe that this is not a good decision or the right solution for our club,” Boban said.

He said that, as one individual within the wider Dinamo community, he had no right not to fight for supporters’ ideas to be heard and respected.

“I have no right, just like anyone else within the club, not to fight for your ideas to be heard and respected, and to try everything possible to see them realised,” he said.

Boban said he believed the investors, the City of Zagreb and the Croatian Government, together with the competition jury, would find the best possible way to realise those ideas.

“I am convinced that we will all be satisfied with the final result,” he said, ending his statement with the message: “Dinamo Zagreb above all.”

(Photo: Grad Zagreb)

Bad Blue Boys response

Earlier on Sunday, the Bad Blue Boys issued their own statement regarding the winning design.

They said the club had previously clearly defined the main principles and wishes of the majority of supporters ahead of the selection process and that they had been given an opportunity to contribute to those discussions.

According to the supporters’ group, the selected design does not meet some of those basic principles, specifically the desire for a closed stadium with connected stands.

“For this reason, we cannot support it,” the group said.

The Bad Blue Boys called on the club and its representatives to primarily consider the wishes and interests of Dinamo and its supporters during the next stages of the process.

(Photo: Grad Zagreb)

They also stressed that the stadium project goes beyond the usual decisions made by the club or those currently running it.

“The question of the stadium is a question for all generations of Dinamo supporters,” they said, adding that they expected everyone involved in the project to respect this.

The winning VG13 Architects proposal was selected from 88 international entries following a competition organised by the City of Zagreb and the Zagreb Society of Architects.