October the 5th, 2026 – Croatia now has a brand new football stadium that is entirely unique in the world and boasts a million dollar view.
While spears are currently being broken over the issues with the new stadium at Maksimir, plans are being forged for the new so-called Poljud beauty and Kranjčevićeva is almost finished. Zvonimir Varga reports for Poslovni that Croatia is however home to a non-controversial new football stadium getting much less attention. It has sprung up on the sunny Kvarner coastline and will certainly attract plenty of attention with its appearance, particularly with its impressive view.
On Friday evening, along the main road that runs through Rijeka and Opatija, the new stadium of NK Opatija was officially opened with a match against the first-division side from Rujevica. Built on the site of the old one, it has become a modern complex constructed according to the infrastructural criteria of the Croatian Football Federation (HNS) for the second Croatian football league in which NK Opatija competes.
The new stadium has 802 seated places, separate stands for home and away fans, auxiliary facilities and a completely new artificial surface with the highest FIFA certificate. In addition to the main pitch there is also a smaller auxiliary pitch and a warm-up area. The main building houses new changing rooms, rooms for coaches and referees, a first-aid and doping-control room, an indoor training hall, storage rooms, a VIP area, catering facilities and a fan shop.
But what captures attention at first glance is the location of the stadium — more precisely the view that opens from the central stand onto the open sea, with the city of Rijeka on the left. Although this is a smaller stadium, there are not many stadiums in Europe, or even in the world, that offer such a view of the sea.
In Croatia the only comparable ones are Poljud, from which the sea is only partially visible, and Kantrida, where professional matches have not been played for a long time. In Europe there is the legendary Estadio Riazor of Spanish Deportivo, Stadio Pier Luigi Penzo in Venice, Stade Louis II in Monaco, and Henningsvær Idrettslag Stadion in Norway (without stands but surrounded by sea and mountains). Around the world, there are similar stadiums in Japan, Australia and South Africa. There are certainly more, but we are not sure whether any can match the ‘million-dollar view’ from the new Opatija stadium.
It should be emphasised that works on the renovation of the Opatija stadium began at the end of 2024, after the contract was signed with the contractor GP Krk. The total value of the project stands at a whopping 6.5 million euros. The project was realised through the city company Opatija 21, and financing was secured with credit funds from HBOR and Zagrebačka banka, with financial support from the Ministry of Tourism and Sport.
We all well remember the bronze medal from Russia and the silver from Qatar 2022, when it was said that the time was right for building new stadiums. We also remember the photo opportunities of the then football officials back in 2014 at Zagreb’s Svetice with shovels that were never put into the ground. Fortunately for all sports lovers, Croatian football today has some new people and initiatives, so we can be proud of Opus Arena in Osijek, the upcoming stadiums at Kranjčevićeva and Maksimir, the announced renovation of Poljud, and now also this small but distinctive new stadium in Opatija.
