Maksimir stadium faces procurement challenge over design competition

Croatia’s Ministry of Economy has appealed against the results of the design competition for the new Maksimir stadium and SRC Svetice complex, raising a potential obstacle to a publicly funded development worth more than €200m.The ministry has asked the State Commission for the Supervision of Public Procurement Procedures, known as DKOM, to annul the selection decision and order a legally compliant reassessment of the submitted designs.Economy Minister Ante Šušnjar said in comments translated from Croatian: “Our analysis revealed serious indications that the same rules did not apply to all 88 competition participants.”The appeal also seeks to suspend further contracting until DKOM reaches a decision, placing the project’s next commercial commitments under scrutiny without establishing that a procurement breach has occurred.According to the ministry, the winning proposal may depart from significant requirements in the competition documentation and from official answers supplied to participants during the process.Its central concern is whether all entrants were assessed against consistent conditions, including whether requirements imposed on other participants were applied equally to the selected design.The ministry has also questioned how proposals were checked before the final decision, covering technical, professional and financial aspects of the entries rather than simply their architectural presentation.Šušnjar distinguished the legal review from public debate over the stadium’s appearance, arguing that architectural judgements should remain with specialists while his ministry examines compliance with procurement rules.The intervention followed discussion among residents, supporters and the wider public, which prompted officials to review both the winning concept and the procedure used to select it.The ministry’s preferred remedy is a new examination and assessment of the entries, allowing the competition to proceed on a legally sound basis if equal treatment can still be ensured.If that is no longer possible, it has asked DKOM to annul the entire competition, creating an alternative outcome that would require the design selection process to be restarted.The distinction leaves the project facing several possible routes, with the independent procurement body responsible for determining whether the ministry’s concerns justify corrective action.Šušnjar has argued that several additional weeks of legal examination should not jeopardise a stadium investment Croatia has awaited for decades, while committing public money without resolving the questions would present a greater risk.The challenge concerns the process for selecting Dinamo’s proposed new stadium concept and the associated sports complex, rather than a ministerial finding that the development itself should be abandoned.DKOM’s ruling will determine whether the existing selection stands, the designs must be reassessed or the competition must be rerun, alongside the ministry’s request to halt further contracting during the review.