Stadion Z’dežele – stadium description

Construction of a brand new football stadium in Celje began in 1999. The site of opekarniška jama was selected as preferred location with its natural land slope promoting a partly sunken bowl. First, in 2003, the east stand was delivered and its 3,600 covered seats served as the only piece of auditorium when the stadium opened.

A year later the biggest stand was delivered, the slope-based west side with 4,800 seats. A year after that, in 2005, the south stand came, also incorporated into the sloped land and also with no infrastructure beneath the auditorium.

It took a lot longer to deliver the northern stand, which enclosed the seating bowl entirely, adding further 3,000 seats. With its addition, the stadium has majority of fans covered with a roof. Also, the north and east stand both have commercial office floor spaces. Most importantly, the north-eastern corner is occupied by a significant office building, which adds further 8,400 m² of offices, adding non-matchday revenue to the stadium's upkeep.

While the building has only one anchor tenant in NK Celje, it also hosted numerous games of the national team, both friendly and qualifiers. It was largely owed to the stadium's high standard (UEFA compliant floodlights, under-soil heating and high capacity) and the fact that Ljubljana's national stadium was only opened in 2010.