Go-ahead for new Sparta Prague stadium

Article posted by Coliseum, June 5^th, 2024

Image: Sparta Praha

The Czech Football Association has agreed to allow Sparta Prague football club build a new stadium at Prague-Strahov.

The new venue will replace the dilapidated Evžen Rošický Stadium currently standing in its place. The project is set to begin construction in 2030 and be completed by 2035.

The decision was made during the association’s general meeting, with no votes against and four delegates abstaining.

Sparta Prague met all the required conditions and has offered to pay for the land over 30 years.

Sparta currently plays its home matches at the Letná Stadium (also known as the epet ARENA), which has been used since 1917 and houses around 18,300 spectators.

Club representative Tomáš Křivda said last year, “We will definitely have to proceed with the construction of a new stadium, because if we were to just rebuild and further modernize the current stadium, it no longer offers us opportunities to increase the capacity and comfort of visitors. We are already running out of space.”

According to the agreement, the new arena will have a capacity of 35,000 spectators, and Sparta Prague will be required to let the national football team play at least three matches a year in the venue.

The move comes after the Evžen Rošický stadium was deemed unfit for national team training due to its poor condition.

However, the Evžen Rošický stadium – adjacent to the Great Strahov Stadium, which has the highest capacity in the world – will continue to be used before construction begins.

“Last year, the general meeting of the Czech Football Association decided that the premises should continue to be used for all types of sport,” said an official from the association.

The new arena will benefit Sparta Prague, which won the Czech First League this season, and the national football team.

The national team will have a modern, state-of-the-art facility in which to play. This is a much-needed upgrade for the team, as their current stadium at Prague-Letná is slowly becoming inadequate.

The new stadium will also have a significant impact on the sport in the country, as it will become the largest football stadium in the Czech Republic, surpassing the Fortuna Arena of rivals and neighbors Slavia Prague, which currently has a capacity of 19,370 spectators.

František Čupr, executive vice-chairman of the board of directors of Sparta Prague told delegates at the FA meeting, “We have the support of the municipality and Prague 6. Both institutions say that nothing but a sports field can be built in Strahov.

“We will have to work intensively on the urban study, which will take time. The five years for a building permit is a relatively short time. We would like to be as short as possible. We are talking about 4.5 billion crowns from our money for the construction of the stadium. We are happy that we are doing well as a business and can afford such an investment.”

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