GNK Dinamo Zagreb Maksimir Stadium digital route to engage fans

Article posted by Coliseum, September 25^th, 2026

Image: Coliseum GSVA

Mate Naletilić works as the Digital Innovation Officer at the professional football club GNK Dinamo Zagreb of Croatia. With seven years of experience under his belt he works in close coordination with the club’s executive management on digital transformation. His ambit includes the integration of digital solutions across the club including the development of the official mobile application.

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In a discourse with ‘Coliseum’, Mate Naletilić, Digital Innovation Specialist, GNK Dinamo Zagreb, Croatia, says that the home of the Dinamo Zagreb – the Maksimir Stadium in Zagreb, Croatia – may have a crumbling infrastructure but “we produce players mainly for the Premier League (the highest level of professional men’s football [soccer] in United Kingdom) and our players are our Ambassadors”. He also narrates how they have used the digital route to keep the fans engaged.

GNK Dinamo Zagreb

The GNK Dinamo Zagreb, commonly referred to as the Dinamo Zagreb, is a Croatian professional football club based in Zagreb, Croatia. They compete in the Croatian Football League (HNL), the top tier of Croatian football. They are the most successful club in Croatian football.

Maksimir Stadium

The Maksimir Stadium is a multiuse stadium in Zagreb, Croatia. Named after the surrounding neighborhood of Maksimir it is one of the largest stadiums in Croatia with a current seating capacity of 25,912 and a maximum capacity of 35,423. It is the home stadium of the GNK Dinamo Zagreb.

New Maksimir Stadium

Construction on the New Maksimir Stadium has not started yet. It is planned to start in 2029 following the demolition of the existing structure in 2027. A brand-new 35,000-seat stadium built across two tiers with integrated Sky Boxes meeting top Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and FIFA standards is being planned.

Terming the GNK Dinamo Zagreb as the “biggest small club in Europe” Mate Naletilić proudly stated that Croatia is known worldwide for its soccer.

Aging Maksimir Stadium

He stated that the Maksimir Stadium is about 100 years old and “We are waiting 50 years for a new stadium. Every Government, every Mayor said we will build a new stadium. I am living in Zagreb for the last 20 years and it has always been a hollow promise of a new venue.”

Digital Layers

Talking about stadium-digital layers on the obsolete infrastructure of the Maksimir Stadium he informed, “The Maksimir Stadium is a historic stadium but from an operational perspective it throws several challenges. The infrastructure was never designed for the modern stadium operations. The connectivity is limited, the systems are fragmented and the access control was originally designed only for allowing, of course, entry and not to generate digital insights. For many years the stadium operations were based mostly on experience rather than data. So, instead of focusing only on the physical infrastructure we decided to improve the operations and the fan experience even before a new stadium comes on stream. Our answer was to build a digital operational layer that sits on the top of the stadium environment.”

Fan Ecosytem

Naletilić explained that the digital layer connects different fan touchpoints and creates a unified fan ecosystem and at the center of the ecosystem is the GNK Dinamo app which connects the multiple systems that historically existed separately.

Dland Growing the Next Generation

The GNK Dinamo Zagreb, one of the most prominent football talent factories in Europe, are growing the next generation of their fans.

Informing that one unique element of the club’s digital ecosystem extends beyond the stadium itself he stated, “We have multimedia entertainment space dedicated to the young fans. It includes physical activities like Cageball, Robokeepers, Skills Zone and, of course, combined digital experiences like Fan Karaoke, Virtual Reality (VR) and Interactive Puzzles. The idea is simple: We want to connect the children to the club from the earliest stage, and not just for watching matches, through playing and active participation. Every activity in dLand is connected to the Dinamo digital ecosystem and this is how we grow the next generation of Dinamo supporters by making the club a part of their childhood and not just come to watch a match.”

Loyalty Program

Naletilić underscored that the food pickup concept helps the digital tools interact with the physical stadium infrastructure and through the mobile app the fans can order food before or during the match and “instead of waiting in serpentine queues they simply pick up their food at the designated pickup counters. This improves the fan experience, especially during half time. At the same time, it opens new commercial opportunities because orders take place digitally. Another important aspect of digital tools is improving the matchday flow. One simple but very effective mechanism is rewarding the fans who arrive early at the stadium. Through our loyalty program we can give points to the supporters who enter the stadium early before kickoff.”

Challenge

Talking about Dinamo Zagreb’s temporary move to the 11,163-capacity Stadion Kranjčevićeva in Trešnjevka, Croatia, at the end of the year he stated that it was a challenge “as we are moving to a small stadium which has only around 12,000 seats. Considering the size of our fanbase I think all matches will be sold out. This means many supporters will not be able to enter the venue physically so the question arises how do we keep them engaged with the club. After the temporary stadium period at Stadion Kranjčevićeva the club plans to move to a stadium with around 35,000 seats (the New Maksimir Stadium) which creates an unusual challenge. We move from a stadium where demands exceed capacity to one that is significantly larger.”

He asserted that to overthrow the challenge the answer lies in digital engagement which is essential to maintain relationships with the supporters throughout the transition.

Wind-up

Mate Naletilić concluded by stating that Croatia is known for soccer but it is “horrible that we do not have a national stadium”.

Digital Ecosystem

“I hope in five years we will have the New national Maksimir Stadium. The stadiums change, the capacities change, but the infrastructure evolves. But irrespective of everything the relationship between the club and the supporters must remain stable. The digital ecosystem allows the clubs to maintain that relationship regardless of the physical venue and that is how we are preparing GNK Dinamo Zagreb for the next generation stadium.”

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