Osijek hit with €6.3 million ruling as Opus Arena faces blockade

NK Osijek faces a €6.3 million bill plus statutory interest after an Osijek Commercial Court ruling in favor of construction company Eurokamen, according to local portal Sportalo.

The ruling is not final, but it has already created a serious financial problem for the Croatian first-division club. The stadium known as Opus Arena has been blocked, while the legal dispute continues. The final amount will depend on the appeals process and whether the decision becomes legally binding in its current form.

Eurokamen and the NK Osijek football school signed a construction agreement on Aug. 1, 2019. Under the contract, the company was to build a sports and recreation complex, the club’s football school and the first phase of a stadium project in Osijek’s Pampas district. The agreed turnkey price was 120 million kuna, excluding value-added tax.

Osijek unilaterally terminated the agreement on Feb. 28, 2022. The club’s leadership said it was dissatisfied with the pace of work and believed delays threatened completion of the project. Eurokamen then brought the case to court.

The club assigned completion of the new stadium and football camp to Austrian construction company Strabag. Strabag finished the work in 15 months, and the stadium opened in July 2023. The court process will now continue, with the club’s final financial liability still unresolved.