Stari plac (lit. "Old ground"), also often referred to as Plinara Stadion, (or incorrectly in some foreign sources as Plinada Stadion[1][2]) is a stadium in Split, Croatia used originally for association football and later mainly for rugby union. It hosted a match between Yugoslavia and Netherlands in the UEFA Euro 1972 qualifying tournament,[2] and in April 2010 a match between Croatia national rugby union team playing against Netherlands in the 2008-10 European Nations Cup tournament.[citation needed] Stari plac is the home ground of Rugby Club Nada Split.

Stari plac
Map
Full nameStadion Stari plac
LocationSplit, Croatia
Capacity25,000 (historical), 3,000 (924 seated)
Field size105 m x 70 m
Construction
Opened1911
Renovated1951, 1979
Tenants
Hajduk Split (1911–1979)
RK Nada Split

The area the stadium was built on was originally a gasworks and was also used as a military training ground by the army.[3] It was initially used as the home stadium of HNK Hajduk Split,[1] and although it was their basic venue in the early years and it was not until 1926 that the first stand was built.[3]

In the beginning the 100 x 60 meters pitch was oriented west-to-east. After First World War it was resized to 105 x 70 meters on a north-to-south orientation. Its first wooden stands, built in 1926, burned down that same year. Three years later new stands were built with a capacity of 900 people, but these were gradually demolished during the Second World War. After the war the stadium received a major reconstruction with a new drainage system, and a wooden west stand for 1400 people. Ten years later the sandy pitch was replaced with grass one, and later on new stands were built on eastern side of the pitch.[4]

In November 2009 Hajduk fans watched a home game versus Dinamo Zagreb on a big screen in the Stari plac, rather than see the game in the Poljud, in a protest against actual club board.[5]

References edit

  1. ^ a b Hajduk European Cup results, dates and venues at foot.dk
  2. ^ a b Euro 72 Qualifying results and line-ups at RSSSF
  3. ^ a b "Stari plac". Priče sa starog placa (in Croatian). Hajduk.hr. Archived from the original on 20 October 2001. Retrieved 8 February 2011.
  4. ^ "Stari Plac" (in Croatian). hajduk.hr. 19 May 2016.
  5. ^ Tom Dunmore (1 November 2009). "Hajduk Split Fans Boycott Crucial Derby". pitchinvasion.net. Retrieved 27 August 2010.

External links edit

43°30′44″N 16°26′06″E / 43.512289°N 16.435053°E / 43.512289; 16.435053