Wembley Architect: Demolish Maksimir Stadium And Start Again

Renowned London Architect Geraint John, whose had worked on some of the most impressive sports arenas in the world such as Arsenal’s Emirates stadium, London’s Wembley, the new closable roof Wimbledon centre-court and Lyon’s new stadium in France, says Zagreb’s Maksimir stadium needs to be demolished and built again from scratch.

John, who was giving a lecture in the Croatian capital Zagreb this weekend, said that modern stadium design has changed so much in recent times and there is no point in upgrading the existing stadium, writes Vecernji list.

“A new stadium needs to be built because the design of modern stadiums has changed so much. Some of the existing materials from the demolished stadium could be used to build the new one, which needs to be economical and adaptable,” said John, adding that the Maksimir stadium needs to maintain its location as it is in a great spot close to the centre of town.

John also said in his lecture that Croatia went down the wrong path in 2009 when it went ahead and built stadiums for the World Handball Champs, stadiums that are now empty for most of the year and on the brink of financial collapse.

“We learnt our lesson with Athens in 2004, you should have built things that could have been removed after the tournament,” said John.