Stadion Ljudski vrt

Infobox Stadium
stadium_name = Ljudski vrt
nickname =


fullname = Stadion Ljudski vrt
location = Maribor, Slovenia
coordinates =
broke_ground =
built = 1962
opened =
renovated = 1994, 1998, 1999, 2008
expanded = 2008
closed =
demolished =
owner = City of Maribor
operator =
surface =
construction_cost =
architect =
structural engineer =
services engineer =
general_contractor =
project_manager =
main_contractors =
former_names =
tenants = NK Maribor
seating_capacity = 12,435
dimensions = 105 × 68 metres
scoreboard =

The Ljudski vrt stadium is a multi-use stadium located in the city of Maribor, Slovenia. It is a landmark of Maribor and the only stadium in the city that lies on the left bank of the river Drava.

The stadium is the home ground of football club NK Maribor. The current capacity of the stadium is 12,435 covered seats.

Besides football the stadium is also the host of many cultural events.

History

The stadium received its name after the public park ( _de. Volksgarten) of Maribor which was planted in 1873.

The park was later turned into a practice range and in 1920 the first football field was built upon it. The meaning of "Ljudski vrt" is "People's garden".

The pitch on the present day area was built in 1952, while the stadium itself was not built until 1962. Since then the stadium went through four renovations. The most notable was the last one when the stadium was completely renovated and now holds a capacity of 12,435 covered seats.

The number of seats will be increased to a total of 13,000 seats in the next phase of the renovation which should be completed by 2010, for the club 50th anniversary.

Football

The stadium is mainly used for football and is the home ground of football club NK Maribor. It is the symbol of the club and one of the most recognizable sport landmarks in Slovenia. Beside being the home ground of NK Maribor, the stadium also hosted some matches of the Slovenia national football team and will be the main venue for 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifications.

For local supporters, the stadium is known as " _sl. Nogometni hram" (Football temple) and the pitch itself as " _sl. Sveta trava" (Holy grass)Fact|date=August 2008. This is most likely due to the tremendous success the club has had on this stadium, but perhaps also because a cemetery was located on the area before the stadium was built.

Culture

Due to excellent acoustics the stadiums is a popular choice for concerts and other cultural performances. One of the most recent was the Greek Zorba musical which had an attendance of around 6,000 people.

Records

The biggest attendance on a football match in Ljudski vrt is around 20,000 achieved in the days of SFR Yugoslavia.

The stadiums is a record holder for the most spectators on a Slovenian league football match. This was achieved on the last match of 1996/97 season against NK Beltinci. 14,000 people gathered to see that match.

Ljudski vrt also holds the record for average attendance in a Slovenian league season (6,000).

External links

* [http://www.nkmaribor.com//DOKUMENTI/DOKUMENT.ASP?ID=342 Stadion LJUDSKI VRT]