Dinamo Zagreb in the Europa League 2026/27: Maksimir and tickets

Dinamo Zagreb play the league phase of the UEFA Europa League 2026/27 with four home matches at Maksimir between October and January: Anderlecht on 15 October (Dinamo won 1:0), NEC Nijmegen on 22 October (NEC won 4:2), Bayer Leverkusen on 26 November and Sturm Graz on 28 January. For a visitor in Zagreb on one of those evenings it is the easiest way into a big European night in Croatia: the stadium is 15 minutes by tram from the main square, the tickets for a European match are cheaper than in most of western Europe, and the north stand, where the Bad Blue Boys stand, is a show in itself. This guide gives the dates and kick-off times, how the tickets are sold in 2026 and what they cost, how to get to Maksimir and back, where to sit, and the rules that catch foreign visitors out.

The four home matches

The four away matches are at Hapoel Beer Sheva on 16 September, Sunderland on 5 November, Rennes on 10 December and AZ Alkmaar on 21 January. The league phase has 36 clubs playing 8 matches each; the top 8 go straight to the March knockout round with 16 teams, places 9 to 24 play a play-off round in February.

Tickets: how the sale works in 2026

Dinamo sold the home matches first as packages for club members, online only, from 9 September on the club's ticket site: four matches in the lower west stand for 130 euro, the upper west stand for 80, the lower north stand for 50 and the upper north stand for 30. Single-match sales for non-members follow once the package sale closes, and the club announces the date for each match on its site and social channels, usually 10 to 14 days before the game. Single tickets for a European group match in recent seasons ran from about 12 euro in the north stand to 40 to 60 euro in the west stand, with the Leverkusen match likely to be the most expensive of the four. Buy only on the club's own ticket site; the resale sites that appear first in a search charge 120 euro and up for the same seats and are not always honoured at the turnstile.

Getting to Maksimir and back

The stadium stands at Maksimirska cesta 128 on the eastern side of the city, next to the Maksimir park and the zoo. From the main square, Ban Jelačić, trams 4, 7, 11 and 12 reach the Bukovačka stop by the stadium in about 15 minutes; on match days the trams run full from two hours before kick-off and the police close the roads around the ground, so allow 45 minutes from the centre. After the match the trams towards the centre fill in minutes; walking 10 minutes west along Maksimirska to the next stop gets you on a tram with space. Taxis and ride apps do not reach the stadium gates on match nights, and there is no visitor parking within a kilometre. From Zagreb airport the shuttle bus to the main bus station takes 30 minutes, then tram 5 or 7 to the stadium.

Match night, step by step

• Gates open 90 minutes before kick-off; the queues at the west stand turnstiles are longest in the last 20 minutes.
• Tickets are personalised: the name on the ticket must match your ID at the turnstile, so bring a passport or ID card.
• No bags larger than A4, no glass, no cans; the search at the gate is thorough for the north stand and quick for the west.
• Beer inside the ground is alcohol-free for UEFA matches; the bars along Maksimirska cesta serve the real thing before and after.
• Zagreb evenings in late autumn and winter are cold, so dress warmly; the west stand is covered, the north and east are open to the wind.
• Kick-off at 21:00 means the match ends around 22:50 and the last trams into the centre run until after midnight.

The last seasons of the old Maksimir

Zagreb and the Croatian government plan to replace the stadium. On 24 September 2026 the competition jury chose a design by VG13 Architects from Milan. It has 35,000 seats and is part of a 204 million euro joint project with the Svetice sports centre. The city expects demolition to start in 2027 and construction in 2029. Three appeals against the result are with the State Commission for Public Procurement Control (DKOM), so the dates can still move. During the works Dinamo will play at the rebuilt Kranjčevićeva stadium in Trešnjevka. It grows from 5,350 to 11,163 seats and meets UEFA category 4. This season's European nights are still at Maksimir.

Zagreb around the match

A European Thursday fits a city break: the Upper Town, the Dolac market and the museums fill the day, dinner in Tkalčićeva street is a 15-minute tram ride from the stadium, and the bars on the same street are where the evening ends. The Maksimir park beside the stadium is the city's largest, with five lakes and the zoo, and it is worth the afternoon before an early kick-off. For the Leverkusen match at 18:45 the sensible order is park, stadium, then dinner; for Sturm at 21:00 eat first. The Dinamo club shop at the stadium opens on match days; the museum of the club is inside the west stand.

Practical notes

• Croatia uses the euro; the ticket site takes cards, the turnstiles take nothing.
• Away supporters of Leverkusen and Sturm buy through their own club, not through Dinamo, and enter by the south stand.
• The Croatian league match on the weekend before or after a European night is the cheap alternative for a visitor who only wants to see Maksimir: tickets from 5 to 15 euro at the box office.
• Dinamo's ticket site is tickets.gnkdinamo.hr; the club's news and sale dates are on gnkdinamo.hr and its social channels.
• Zagreb's tourist tax and the usual hotel rules apply; on European match nights the hotels near the stadium in Maksimir and Peščenica fill with travelling supporters, the centre does not.