Stadion Letná


The Generali Česká pojišťovna Arena, previously, and still commonly known as Letná Stadium, is a football stadium in Prague. It is the home venue of Sparta Prague and occasionally hosts the matches of the Czech Republic national football team. It has capacity for 19,416 people.

History

The first wooden stadium at its location opened in 1921, in 1930 it hosted the third Women's World Games. The stadium burned in 1934 and a new main reinforced concrete grandstand was built in 1937. In 1969 all the other grandstands were replaced by reinforced concrete ones and capacity was extended to 35,880 spectators. The 1994 reconstruction into its present form saw Letná closed for nine months, till the stadium met all international standards. The running track was removed and all spectator places were now seated.
Letná has frequently hosted international matches, in October 1989 the venue saw a crowd of 34,000 watch home side Czechoslovakia defeat Switzerland in a qualifying match for the 1990 FIFA World Cup. After the dissolution of Czechoslovakia, Letná continued as an international stadium, hosting matches of the Czech Republic national football team from 1995, including qualification matches for UEFA Euro 1996, in which the Czechs defeated the Netherlands and Norway.
The playing surface was renovated in 2001, including the installation of a new under-soil heating and watering system and grass from Germany. This necessitated Sparta playing league matches at the end of the 2000–01 season at the nearby Stadion Evžena Rošického.
Sparta was hit by a 55,000 CHF fine from European football governing body UEFA in 2001 following racist slurs from the crowd targeted at black Brazilian Luis Robson in a UEFA Champions League match at Letná against Spartak Moscow. It was, at the time, the biggest fine ever handed out by UEFA to a club for racist chanting.
Since 2002, the stadium have a heated turf. In 1994 the stadium was reopened after a complete modernization, all seats have since been seated and the stadium meets all required standards. In 2009, major changes took place at the stadium, barriers were removed, two video screens were installed and infrared radiators were installed to heat the "opposite" tribune.

Czech Republic national football team matches


DateAttendanceHome teamResultAway teamCompetitionMatch report
26 April 199517,463Czech Republic 3–1 NetherlandsUEFA Euro 1996 Q
6 September 199519,522Czech Republic 2–0 NorwayUEFA Euro 1996 Q
15 November 199520,239Czech Republic 3–0 LuxembourgUEFA Euro 1996 Q
9 October 199619,223Czech Republic 0–0 Spain1998 FIFA World Cup Q
2 April 199719,137Czech Republic 1–2 FR Yugoslavia1998 FIFA World Cup Q
11 October 19975,428Czech Republic 3–0 Slovakia1998 FIFA World Cup Q
19 August 19987,021Czech Republic 1–0 DenmarkFriendly
9 June 199921,149Czech Republic 3–2 ScotlandUEFA Euro 2000 Q
9 October 199921,362Czech Republic 2–0 Faroe IslandsUEFA Euro 2000 Q
26 April 20004,972Czech Republic 4–1 IsraelFriendly
28 March 200116,354Czech Republic 0–0 Denmark2002 FIFA World Cup Q
25 April 20014,887Czech Republic 1–1 BelgiumFriendly
6 October 200115,020Czech Republic 6–0 Bulgaria2002 FIFA World Cup Q
14 November 200118,996Czech Republic 0–1 Belgium2002 FIFA World Cup Q
18 May 200215,077Czech Republic 1–0 ItalyFriendly
6 September 20025,435Czech Republic 5–0 FR YugoslaviaFriendly
2 April 200317,150Czech Republic 4–0 AustriaUEFA Euro 2004 Q
10 September 200318,356Czech Republic 3–1 NetherlandsUEFA Euro 2004 Q
28 April 200411,802Czech Republic 0–1 JapanFriendly
2 June 20046,627Czech Republic 3–1 BulgariaFriendly
9 October 200416,028Czech Republic 1–0 Romania2006 FIFA World Cup Q
8 October 200517,478Czech Republic 0–2 Netherlands2006 FIFA World Cup Q
16 November 200517,464Czech Republic 1–0 Norway2006 FIFA World Cup Q
3 June 200615,910Czech Republic 3–0 Trinidad and TobagoFriendly
15 November 20066,852Czech Republic 1–1 DenmarkFriendly
24 March 200717,821Czech Republic 1–2 GermanyUEFA Euro 2008 Q
12 September 200716,648Czech Republic 1–0 Republic of IrelandUEFA Euro 2008 Q
17 November 200715,651Czech Republic 3–1 SlovakiaUEFA Euro 2008 Q
30 May 200811,314Czech Republic 3–1 ScotlandFriendly
1 April 200914,956Czech Republic 1–2 Slovakia2010 FIFA World Cup Q
10 October 200914,010Czech Republic 2–0 Poland2010 FIFA World Cup Q
6 September 20117,322Czech Republic 4–0 UkraineFriendly
7 October 201117,873Czech Republic 0–2 SpainUEFA Euro 2012 Q
11 November 201114,560Czech Republic 2–0 MontenegroUEFA Euro 2012 Q
1 June 201217,102Czech Republic 1–2 HungaryFriendly
16 October 201216,160Czech Republic 0–0 Bulgaria2014 FIFA World Cup Q
7 June 201318,235Czech Republic 0–0 Italy2014 FIFA World Cup Q
3 September 201412,673Czech Republic 0–1 United StatesFriendly
9 September 201417,946Czech Republic 2–1 NetherlandsUEFA Euro 2016 Q
10 October 201517,190Czech Republic 0–2 TurkeyUEFA Euro 2016 Q
24 March 201614,580Czech Republic 0–1 ScotlandFriendly
4 September 201610,731Czech Republic 0–0 Northern Ireland2018 FIFA World Cup Q
7 June 201913,482Czech Republic 2–1 BulgariaUEFA Euro 2020 Q
14 October 20199,139Czech Republic 2–3 Northern IrelandFriendly

Development of the name

Since the beginning the stadium has been used as a speaking tribune for events that took place in front of it, in/around the Milada Horaková street and the large "Letná Plain". During the Velvet revolution in 1989, were at the plain assebled some 800,000 people for anti-government demonstrations. The speaking tribune was later removed.

Transport

The stadium is served by the tram stop Sparta, called at by services 1, 2, 8, 12, 25 and 26. The nearest metro stations are Vltavská to the east and Hradčanská to the west.