11. April Sports & Recreation Centre
Client
Selbi Lighting
Project location
Belgrade, Serbia
Project date
2026
Back in the spotlight
The iconic sports and recreation center “11. April” in New Belgrade has been serving athletes and citizens since 1979. Now – it has entered a new era thanks to a complete upgrade of its indoor pool lighting system.
The 15,000 m² centre was designed by architect Igor Palavicini. It is located near the E70 Belgrade–Zagreb highway and can accommodate up to 3,000 visitors. Why is it called 11. April? That’s the date when the construction of New Belgrade began in 1948.
Facilities
The sports and recreation centre consists of the following spaces:
- Three outdoor pools (small, medium, and large – Olympic)
- Three indoor pools (same categories)
- Fitness center (aerobics, pilates, and aquarobics)
- Multi-purpose gymnasium for martial arts, gymnastics, and dancing
- Gymnasium for ball games (volleyball, basketball, futsal and badminton)
- Air-conditioned gymnasium for table tennis
- Outdoor tennis courts
- Shooting range
The sports and recreation centre consists of the following spaces:
- Three outdoor pools (small, medium, and large – Olympic)
- Three indoor pools (same categories)
- Fitness center (aerobics, pilates, and aquarobics)
- Multi-purpose gymnasium for martial arts, gymnastics, and dancing
- Gymnasium for ball games (volleyball, basketball, futsal and badminton)
- Air-conditioned gymnasium for table tennis
- Outdoor tennis courts
- Shooting range
The center also includes changing and medical facilities as well as two restaurants. The site is open for both recreational users and professional athletes practicing swimming (day and night), water polo, table tennis, basketball, volleyball, tennis, and other sports.
UPGRADE & REFURBISHMENT
After first opening its doors in 1979, the center experienced a 20-year closure period until 1991. Since then, various upgrades have taken place. This includes the reconstruction of the large indoor swimming pool which completed in 2012. The renovated indoor pool is currently used by the Red Star Water Polo Club, while the outdoor pools are used by the Zemun Water Polo Club during the summer season.
In cooperation with the Secretariat for Sports and Youth of the City of Belgrade and the Municipality of New Belgrade, the “11. April” Sports and Recreation Center has organized free swimming schools and various recreational programmes for many years.
Lighting renovation project
The previous lighting system installed in the large swimming pool area consisted of floodlights with high-power metal-halide lamps, designed for both training sessions and competitions, including TV broadcasting.
Over the years, the installation became increasingly difficult to maintain, many floodlights stopped functioning, and energy consumption was extremely high. The management had long planned to renovate the lighting system and waited for the right moment to carry out the project.
During 2025, SELBI Lighting, the main distributor of Thorn, Zumtobel, and THORNeco brands in Serbia, provided photometric calculations in cooperation with the local Zumtobel Group Lighting team.
THE NEW SOLUTION
The existing lighting installation included 57 floodlights with 1 kW metal-halide lamps. For the renovation with LED technology, Altis G5 floodlights with three bricks were selected, featuring CRI >90, a cool colour temperature of 5700 K, and TLCI suitable for TV broadcasting.
The premium Altis G5 sports floodlight features a robust die-cast aluminum housing with C5 protection class for use in aggressive environments, along with a special coating designed specifically for swimming pool areas. Patented cooling technology, low-flicker operation (<1%), and strict testing methods ensure high performance and durability of this product range. Using intensive asymmetrical optics, the new lighting solution required only 45 floodlights with a power of 876 W, enabling energy savings of approximately 40%.
BENEFITS
New Areaflood Pro 2 luminaires with a 4000 K colour temperature were additionally installed along the edges of the pool, replacing fluorescent tubes.
Additional savings during operation will be achieved through the LITECOM control system via DALI lines, enabling the creation of different lighting scenes according to specific needs. With the new LED lighting solution fully compliant with FINA standards, the calculated lighting level achieved was EH ave = 1500 lx.
A major challenge during the project was the use of the existing floodlight positions due to static load limitations, although the roof construction had been reinforced. The lighting scheme and control system enable the following pre-programmed lighting scenes:
- Maintenance – 25%
- Training – 50%
- Competition – 75%
- TV Broadcast – 100%
THE END RESULT
Strong cooperation with the right lighting partner proved to be critical for the management of the sports center.
The new lighting solution delivers light exactly where it is needed while significantly reducing glare. As a result, more and more citizens are now attracted to recreational swimming, while sports competitions with TV broadcasting provide an enhanced experience for audiences at home.
Through their expertise, SELBI Lighting and Zumtobel Group Lighting Serbia created a completely new experience for all visitors of the “11. April” Sports and Recreation Center, bringing this iconic venue back into the spotlight of Belgrade citizens.