Arena Zagreb: A Memorial Match as a Tribute to Dražen Petrović

Even though he has not been around for 31 years, basketball player Dražen Petrović is an inherent part of the Croatian and global basketball and sporting history and a role model to generations of young people. He was born on 22 October 1964 in Šibenik, a city in central Dalmatia. With sixtieth anniversary of his birth approaching, a memorial match is underway to honour this player who won many medals with his teammates during his career at numerous renowned international competitions.

The memorial match will take place on 5 September in the Arena Zagreb Hall and it is organised by the player’s family, the Government of the Republic of Croatia, the Croatian Basketball Federation and partners.

All fans of Dražen Petrović, the first Croatian player to enter NBA, are about to experience one of the greatest basketball shows in the recent Croatian history. This match between the Croatian national team and selected European players will be played on a LED basketball court for the first time in Croatia.

Current NBA stars, members of Dream team, his teammates and many sports legends will pay tribute to this basketball great in the Arena Hall. It will be a unique chance to gather numerous sports stars who we could not see together until now because they belong to different generations. There will be other activities in addition to the memorial match at the Arena Hall to remind visitors of the important facts and dates from Dražen’s career.

In 2008 the Dražen Petrović Museum and Memorial Centre was opened in the centre of Zagreb. The exhibits tell a story about the life and career of this athlete of extraordinary personality and sporting traits.  

Many young people visit the final resting place of their dearly missed idol at the Mirogoj cemetery in Zagreb.

The tickets for the Memorial match to honour Dražen Petrović are available at www.eventim.hr.