It is the home stadium of Croatian club Dinamo Zagreb and has been used since 1990 by the Croatia national football team for the majority of international competitions.

Due to the strong earthquake that struck Zagreb on March 22, 2020, the east stand has not been open to spectators.

[citation needed] On 26 May 1941, a representative of the Ustashe fascist government of the Independent State of Croatia addressed young Zagreb students at their meeting at the Maksimir Stadium, and at one point ordered the Serbian and Jewish students to be segregated, but the children disobeyed.

After World War II, Građanski got dissolved by the newly established communist regime of Yugoslavia and a new club, FD Dinamo Zagreb, inherited the clubs' colours, honours and the ground and is, therefore, the direct successor of HŠK Građanski Zagreb.

After 1992, for 16 years the Croatian football team had a proud unbeaten record at this stadium in any competitive match, however, on 10 September 2008 (two years after suffering a 2–0 defeat at the same venue) England became the first team to beat Croatia in Zagreb, winning 4–1, ending a thirty match undefeated streak.

All seats were replaced, a new drainage system, under-soil heating and automatic watering were installed along with a new turf, the athletic track was covered with blue artificial grass and all brick surfaces were covered in blue cloth.

While waiting, the club is allowed to host matches on the Maksimir stadium, but with the eastern stand being closed for viewers.

[9] The winning design, nicknamed "Blue Volcano" (Croatian: Plavi vulkan), would have a capacity of 55,000 and would include a blue-coloured polycarbonate dome exterior and a cloud-like structure suspended above the stadium covered in photovoltaic panels.

In October 2012, the project was abandoned,[11] to be briefly revived in 2013 with an eye to a possible UEFA Euro 2020 bid,[12] and again in 2018, following Croatia's historic success in the World Cup.

The plans included the increase of the stadium capacity to 12,000 seats with a total remodelling of all four stands.

In July 2023, the two major football stadiums in Croatia, Maksimir and Poljud were declared sports buildings of national interest by the Croatian Government.

[16] The decision was said to confirm the government's intention to construct a new stadium in Maksimir and complete significant renovations to Poljud.