The Hall was built as part of the larger sports centre on the grounds of former JNA barracks, serving primarily as a venue for the city’s basketball club, but also for other indoor sports and a wide range of other sports, cultural and entertainment events. At the same time, the centre would start building an indoor swimming pool facility with competition pools, a diving board, and pools for recreational swimming, with additional plans to build a tennis complex, outdoor pools of Olympic dimensions, diving boards, an aqua park, numerous other outdoor modern sports and recreation facilities, and a hotel. The construction was made possible after the City of Zadar received the grounds of the former barracks from the Ministry of Defence. This sports and recreation centre is located between Poluotok, which is the historical city core to the south, and the residential area of Bili Brig to the northeast. This position is very favourable in relation with the other facilities within the city. In other words, an adequate traffic connection brings SC Višnjik closer to the historical city core and allows for excellent pedestrian and traffic connections with the rest of the city. The construction of the sports-recreation centre has revived and reinvigorated strong pedestrian connections between the north and the south, specifically, between the neighbourhoods of Bili Brig and Poluotok. As a result, pedestrians experience previously less attractive areas that now have a new, urban character, meaning, and particularity. The urban-architectural solution of the whole area was developed by the company Marinaprojekt d.o.o. (principal designer Nikola Bašić, dipl.ing.arh.), based in Zadar. The multi-purpose city hall project was drafted according to the tender by prof. dr. sc. Marijan Hržić from the Architectural Atelier Hržić, design and construction d.o.o. from Zagreb, which has extensive experience in the design of public buildings, and was also one of the designers of The Dražen Petrović Basketball Hall in Zagreb. The completion of the project took place in 2008. The contractor was Lavčević Engineering d.o.o. from Split, the subcontractor Hering Ploče d.o.o., and the works were supervised by IGH d.d. from Zagreb.
The main purpose of the hall is to host basketball games, but its multifunctionality allows it to host other sports events, as well as concerts, fairs, gatherings and other activities required by a modern city. The hall has a circular shape with a diameter of 135.12 metres, and is covered by a dome that is 26.2 metres tall, measured from the basketball court up to the crown. The first level has a usable area of approximately 14,300 square metres, whilst the audience stands have a usable area of approximately 5,200 square metres. The central hall and four versatile smaller halls with their own auxiliary spaces (locker rooms for players and referees) have been designed with sporting events in mind, with the aforementioned auxiliary spaces being used for practice during basketball contests or other sports and competitions, such as volleyball, futsal, handball, rhythmic gymnastics, sports recreation etc.). The halls can also be used to host various events for the public such as congresses, fairs, seminars, concerts and the like. Auxiliary hall 3 is entirely soundproof, equipped with a 300-seat auditorium and includes loudspeaker setups and scoreboards for sports competitions. Auxiliary halls number 1 and 4 can be divided with movable screens or fronts into separate areas for sports or sports recreation.
The auditorium in the central hall has a total of 6,503 fixed seats. There are also four telescopic bleachers near the court, which can be retracted to gain more usable space for sports like handball or tennis, or public events such as concerts, musicals, fairs etc. Total capacity is 8,500 seats. VIP and PRESS sections have additional 264 seats, and the frontal bleachers, named “family VIP” have 408 seats and are located behind the baskets during basketball games. In certain situations, if the need arises, additional 150 VIP chairs can be set up courtside. The hall has 4 main entrances (A, B, C, D) which are located in the direction of southwest (A – D) and northeast (B – C) and are accessible via spacious stairs. The main entrances lead into a circular lobby which encompasses the stands inside the hall. The stands are entered through 12 entrances located above the ring auditorium that overlooks the arena. Near those 12 entrances are sets of 2 aisles that are used to climb up to the higher seating levels.
The hall has a suitable and regulated court surface, as well as state-of-the-art audio and scoreboard equipment. The central scoreboard stands out in particular. It weighs over 3 tons, and the spectators can use it to track player stats, the overall score, remaining time, and even instant-replays. The main scoreboard is located right above the centre of the court. It consists of 4 LED panels which are 6.3 metres wide and 3.2 metres tall. The scoreboard is a product of “Tehnovision”, used for real-time player stats, tracking time, instant-replays, and advertisements. The main scoreboard is supported by 2 additional scoreboards, located on the east and west side (dimensions 6 x 2.5 metres). The quality and power of audio inside the hall are ensured by 14 “ICF” active 1,500 W loudspeaker enclosures, which are placed on the maintenance aisle near the dome of the hall, 17 metres above the court. Audio and video content is an integral part of any sports event, and they are controlled using computers from the control room located on the western part of the stands.
The sports arena, encompassed by a blue border, is an area of 1,000 square metres. The court itself is entered via 4 main entrances-exits; for players, VIP, Press, and the judges. Below the northern side of the stands there are a total of 8 locker rooms for players, an infirmary, a doping testing room, and three locker rooms for judges. Below the southern stands there are 8 locker rooms for players, 4 individual locker rooms, 6 rooms for various uses, a fitness room, a reception area, and an area dedicated to a future restaurant. Below the A and D sections of the stands in the south there is a spacious press centre, whilst the VIP area is on the north side. Journalists can watch sporting events courtside or from the press stands which also have foldable work tables. Wireless Internet is the primary technology used for sending reports and other journalistic content.
Telephone: +385 99 801 3008
Email: boris.miocic@visnjik.hr
Monday: 08:00 – 23:00
Tuesday: 08:00 – 23:00
Wednesday: 08:00 – 23:00
Thursday: 08:00 – 23:00
Friday: 08:00 – 23:00
Saturday, Sunday, and Holidays: depending on the pre-arranged activities, content, and appointments
