Football begin being played in Banja Luka before World War I. During the period between the two world wars, Banja Luka was the seat of one of the national subassociations of the Football Association of Yugoslavia, the Banja Luka football subassociation. Football popularity grew, main city club Krajišnik managed qualification to the 1935–36 Yugoslav Football Championship, so officials deemed the current facilities inadequate. A new stadium with better conditions for playing and bigger capacity was built in the place where the main club in the city, SK Krajišnik, had its field. The architect of a new stadium was Žarko Malić. The stadium was officially inaugurated on 5 September 1937, with its first official name ""Stadium of Bogoljub Kujundžić"" in honor of Kujundžić, one of the main donators of the stadium, and the ban of the Vrbas Banovina. At the inauguration day, two games were played. The first, as warm-up, was between Hajduk Banja Luka against Meteor Krupa, and then the main game, between SK Krajišnik against the guests who were the Yugoslav champions that year, BSK Belgrade.