 Stadion pod Bijelim Brijegom -UEFA   | |
 Interactive map of Bijeli Brijeg Stadium | |
| Full name | Stadion pod Bijelim Brijegom |
|---|---|
| Location | Mostar,Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| Coordinates | 43°20′44″N17°47′43″E / 43.34556°N 17.79528°E /43.34556; 17.79528 |
| Public transit | Mostar Bus or Taxi |
| Owner | City of Mostar |
| Operator | HŠK Zrinjski Mostar |
| Capacity | 13,000 (planned under renovation) |
| Field size | 105 m × 70 m |
| Surface | Hybrid grass |
| Scoreboard | LED |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 1947 |
| Built | 1956–1958 |
| Opened | 7 September 1958 (67 years ago) (1958-09-07)[1] |
| Renovated | 2023–2024 |
| Construction cost | YUD140 million (1958) |
| Tenants | |
| FK Velež Mostar (1958–1992) HŠK Zrinjski Mostar (1992–present) | |
Stadion pod Bijelim Brijegom (English:Bijeli Brijeg Stadium), also known asHŠK Zrinjski Stadium, is a City of Mostar ownedassociation footballstadium, located in the city ofMostar,Bosnia and Herzegovina. The venue is currently home ofHŠK Zrinjski Mostar. Today it has a capacity of 9,000 seats. Currently, its stadium is being renovated, where instead of standing, there will be a modern new stand for a minimum of 5,000 seats
The stadium is situated in the city's center, in the neighborhood of Bijeli Brijeg, on the west bank of theNeretva river.
The stadium was built in 1958 with the public subsidies, and volunteering construction works by all denizens of Mostar, particularly students,[2] and it served as the home ground ofVelež Mostar duringSFR Yugoslavia era.[3][4] During theBosnian War, between 1992 and 1995, and in particular subsequent incitement ofCroat-Bosniak hostilities, the city of Mostar was effectively split to two parts, western (Croat) and eastern (Bosniak), divided around the riverNeretva and the city boulevard. The stadium sustained heavy damage during the war, while conflicting ideologies and interests were conveyed from the war times into the post-war era, evidenced in continuous and steady political divisiveness in the city of Mostar, among other, in issues of territorial and ownership disputes. Such political ambiance showed in the forced eviction of FK Velež Mostar from its traditional home-ground of stadiumPod Bijelim Brijegom, and subsequent political and public disputes over stadium usurpation by another club,[4] emerging in the city at the beginning of the war in 1992, namely HŠK Zrinjski Mostar, one of three city's ethno-national football organizations banned by the former Yugoslav government immediately after theWorld War II. From that moment onward stadium serves solely as the home ground of Zrinjski Mostar.[5]
FK Velež Mostar used stadiumPod Bijelim Brijegom from the time it was built until 1992, through the club's glory days, when they emerged triumphant from their campaigns in the1981 and1986Yugoslav Cups competition, and before that when the club also reached the quarter-final stage of the1974–75 UEFA Cup.[6][3] People around Velež Mostar club, supporters, as well as aficionados of this cult club around former Yugoslavia, public figures, including number of Croatian intellectuals, continuously advocate for Velež's return to its original stadium,[4] however, so far these calls fall on deaf ears with the city's administration, who often citing political and security issues to continue blocking of Velež's return. The club currently plays at theRođeni Stadium which was built in 1995.[3][4][7][6]
Bijeli Brijeg is the fourth largest stadium in Bosnia and Herzegovina, afterKoševo stadium inSarajevo. The club HŠK Zrinjski administration changed the stadium name intoStadion HŠK Zrinjski (English:HSK Zrinjski Stadium) and registered it with theFootball Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina for the club's games under the association's auspices.[8]
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