Nacionalni Stadion – design description

Along the vision of president Aleksandar Vučić, the new national stadium of Serbia should be built outside Belgrade city limits, within the town of Surčin. The remote location was chosen as the site of a new highway hub, a place where Belgrade is expected to spill over in the long term.

The decision symbolically reconciles fans of Serbia's two largest football clubs, Crvena Zvezda and Partizan. Had any of their stadiums been selected as the preferred site, it would have certainly caused tensions. Then again, decision to build far from existing settlements has also sparked controversy.

In 2019 geological and geotechnical analyses began on site, followed by a tender for the technical design documentation. However, in spring of 2020 authorities revealed the tender was cancelled because of a shift in priorities, caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. It may have thus been a surprise to some when renderings of the stadium were revealed by the ministry of finance in late August of 2020.

The plan sees a classic double-tiered auditorium with a strip of skyboxes between. Total capacity is projected to reach 52,000, slightly more than at Marakana but without the running track. Less conventional, the stands are to be surrounded by a spacious diagonal steel frame supporting the roof and facades.

Rather than opting for an opaque cladding, designers decided to create three terraces with plenty of shrubs and trees. This alone, and especially combined with significant use of timber, rightly brings to mind the Tokyo Olympic Stadium.

The stadium's circular footprint facilitates the creation of a tensile roof, which is a reasonable and efficient move. However, in Surčin a novel feature is expected. The compression ring outside and tension ring inside are to be connected by wooden beams.

Because of the stadium's location, at least in its early years cars are expected to be the main means of transport. That's why parking capacity in excess of 10,000 is planned.

Top Future Serbian Stadiums