„It is one of the canonical works of Croatian contemporary architecture, a project setting a precedent in its typology which has not lost any of its relevance to this day.“

– Maroje Mrduljaš, an expert on architecture, about the Poljud Stadium for Towards a Concrete Utopia exhibition at MoMA, NY.

The Poljud City Stadium is home to the famous football club from Split, “Hajduk”. It was built in 1979 and designed by the prominent Croatian architect Boris Magaš (1930-2013). The structure was initially erected to stage the VIII. Mediterranean Games held in 1979 in Split. The same year, the author was awarded with the “Fight” Federal Award for architecture and urban planning and architectural design concept of the stadium in Poljud. The stadium is shaped like two classical Greek theaters facing each other, with ‘tray’-shaped grandstands. Architectural illusionist applied creates the impression of floating in space, so from a distance, the stadium looks like an open shell laid on the ground.

Apart from the architectural concept, the stadium also stands out with its unique roof construction of the Mero type. Its span is 206 meters and at the time of construction, it was the largest of its kind, while its spherical shape was also a novelty constructed for the first time in the world. In 2015, the Poljud Stadium acquired the status of a Protected Cultural Heritage of the Republic of Croatia.