Stadion Rajko Mitić – stadium description

First ground in this location was built in 1927. The 30,000-capacity venue was home to SK Jugoslavija, club disbanded by authorities after WWII. Crvena Zvezda (Red Star) was formed in return, soon gaining popularity and success. Memorable games include European Cup quarterfinal against Manchester United, after which returning English players' plane crashed in Munich.

Erection of new stadium started in 1960 with last game of Crvena Zvezda played in late December 1959. Capacity was supposed to be at nearly 90,000, forcing authorities do deepen the seating bowl by 12 meters, creating a crater in the ground. First game was played on Sept 1^st 1963, though construction wasn't finished until 1964. Inauguration brought 55,000 people, but later the same season app. 108,000 watched derby game against Partizan. New record was broken with the same game in 1975 and 110,000 people in attendance. It was games like these that earned the ground its nickname – Marakana – making comparison to the famous Brazilian stadium.

In 1990's raising safety standard forced capacity to drop significantly. Installation of seats instead of benches and terracing brought number of viewers down to less than 60,000. In 2008 announcement of new stadium construction was made, but due to lack of progress constant renovations are being done to improve the venue until new project goes forward.

In December 2014 the general assembly of Crvena Zvezda decided to rename the stadium to honour Rajko Mitić, the first of Red Star's great legends.