Opus Arena, Croatia

The fourth largest city in Croatia, Osijek is located on the bank of the Drava river, not far from where it joins the Danube.

Over recent years, the Zumtobel Group has developed a unique and strong relationship with the city, having been responsible for lighting Osijek’s most iconic landmark – it’s pedestrian bridge – back in 2017 with architectural floodlights. Interestingly, that lighting project was funded by a Coca-Cola marketing campaign.

We are pleased to have returned in 2023 to light one of the city’s newest landmarks – the Opus Arena. Home to football club FC Osijek, the 13,005 capacity stadium opened in July and is the first in the country to have a roof covering all seats. Spanning over 15 hectares, the site also includes 900 parking spaces, seven heated pitches and training and accommodation facilities.

At Thorn, we were able to provide a full lighting solution for our partners, building and construction company, Strabag and Elektrokovina. This included indoor and outdoor lighting from the pitch, car park, building surround and interior emergency controls.

As a Category 4 UEFA stadium, pitch lighting was a crucial element in this project. Thanks to our state-of-the-art luminaires, the stadium is equipped with the appropriate technology to meet all necessary requirements. A total of 196 Altis three brick floodlights were installed and commissioned.

Altis provides controlled light pollution and maximum power. Easy to install and maintain, the floodlights are also flicker-free for HDTV broadcasting and offer a variety of optical configurations. The ability to tilt the luminaires means greater control: precise illumination, minimised spill light, perfect uniformity on the playing area, reduction in windage and, ultimately, the use of fewer fittings.

Valentina Koprivnjak, Member of the Board – FC Osijek, said “By building this stadium, we wanted to provide fans with the best possible feeling and experience when a match or any event takes place. One of the essential elements of this stadium is the lighting which we thought about in several ways. I think that we have chosen the best possible solution for the atmosphere that this type of lighting will provide during matches or other events that we will organise.”

Denis Biskup, Brand Manager at the Zumtobel Group added, “Working alongside our partners, we really enjoyed bringing our knowledge and expertise to the Opus Arena project. We know that lighting has a much bigger role to play than just a functional one. Lighting has the power to create atmosphere and identity. With the solutions we’ve provided, we have helped to establish the stadium as a new landmark for the city, and we’re sure it will delight fans and visitors for many years to come.”

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