Synot Tip Arena is a
footballAssociation football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
stadiumA modern stadium is a place or venue for outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.)Pausanias noted that for about half a century the only event...
, in
PraguePrague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
-
VršoviceVršovice is a district of Prague. All of Vršovice lies within the Prague 10 administrative district. Vršovice is located south of the city centre. It borders Vinohrady to the north, Nusle to the south-west, Michle to the south and Strašnice to the east....
,
Czech RepublicThe Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
.
The stadium has a capacity of 21,000 people and it is the most modern football stadium in the
Czech RepublicThe Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
.
It is the home venue of SK Slavia Prague and occasionally the
Czech Republic national football teamThe Czech Republic national football team represents the Czech Republic in association football and is controlled by the Football Association of the Czech Republic, the governing body for football in the Czech Republic. Their current head coach is Michal Bílek...
. Starting in the 2010–11 season, it is also the venue of Bohemians 1905 home matches for a period of five years. During the 2011-12 season the stadium is the home venue for Viktoria Plzeň in
Champions LeagueChampions League may refer to various sports competitions. It most commonly refers to association football:-Association Football:*the UEFA Champions League, for Union of European Football Associations**the current UEFA Champions League season...
group stage (matches with
FC BarcelonaFutbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....
, Milan AC, FC BATE Borisov).
The stadium has been selected as the venue for the
2013 UEFA Super CupThe 2013 UEFA Super Cup is a football match scheduled to be played at Eden Stadium in Prague, Czech Republic, in August 2013. It will be the 38th UEFA Super Cup organised by the European football governing body UEFA, and the first to be held away from the Stade Louis II in Monaco since it became a...
.
History
In the early 1950s, Slavia was forced to leave its stadium at
LetnáLetná is an informal quarter of Prague, the Czech Republic. It belongs to Holešovice and Bubeneč quarters.The main part of Letná is Letná Plain , a large empty plain, and Letná Park . The football stadium of AC Sparta Prague, Generali Arena, is located here....
and a
new stadiumStadion Eden was a multi-use stadium in Prague, Czech Republic. It was initially used as the stadium of Slavia Prague matches. It was replaced by the current Synot Tip Arena in 2008. The capacity of the stadium was 50,000 spectators....
was built at Eden in the
VršoviceVršovice is a district of Prague. All of Vršovice lies within the Prague 10 administrative district. Vršovice is located south of the city centre. It borders Vinohrady to the north, Nusle to the south-west, Michle to the south and Strašnice to the east....
district. Its capacity was about 50,000 (mostly for standing). The wooden western (main) stand was taken from the old stadium at Letná, the rest of the stands were made of concrete. The stadium also featured an athletics track. The first match at this stadium took place on September 27, 1953, Slavia drew 1-1 against the team of Křídla vlasti Olomouc.
Josef BicanJosef "Pepi" Bican was a Czech-Austrian football forward. It is estimated by respected footballing statistics page RSSSF that Bican scored around 800 goals in all competitive matches, not including friendly games...
scored the home team's goal.
Move
In the 1970s, it became apparent that Eden did not provide sufficient comfort for the visitors and started planning to build a new one in the same place. However, under the communist regime, the planning went quite slowly. Several projects were made, and the construction was finally to start in 1990. In 1989, Slavia moved temporarily to nearby
Ďolíček stadiumĎolíček Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Prague district Vršovice, Czech Republic. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home ground of Bohemians 1905. The stadium was opened in 1932. The reconstruction of 2003 changed the capacity to 13,388 . After reconstruction in...
(home of FC Bohemians Prague, now known as Bohemians 1905) and the eastern stand was torn down. However, the
overthrowing of the communist regime in 1989The Velvet Revolution or Gentle Revolution was a non-violent revolution in Czechoslovakia that took place from November 17 – December 29, 1989...
delayed the construction. In the meantime, Slavia moved to
Stadion Evžena RošickéhoStadion Evžena Rošického, also known simply as Strahov, is a multi-purpose stadium in Strahov, Prague in the Czech Republic. It is used mostly for football matches, although no team plays at the stadium regularly. It served as the home ground for SK Slavia Prague from August 2000 until May 2008...
, a stadium on the Strahov hill, which is large but uncomfortable and poorly accessible.
In the early 1990s, the whole construction was cancelled and Slavia moved back to Eden. A temporary stand was built in the place of former eastern stand, but it was clear that Eden was outdated and Slavia needed a new home ground. Several more projects were made, but Slavia was unable to raise sufficient funds and there were some legal problems, as the premises were owned by the government and it took a lot of effort to transfer them to Slavia. In 2000, the stadium was not eligible to host
Czech leagueThe Gambrinus liga is a Czech professional league for football clubs. At the top of the Czech football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is contested by 16 clubs, operating a system of promotion and relegation with the Czech 2. Liga. Seasons run from August to May,...
matches, so Slavia moved to the unpopular Strahov again.
New stadium
Slavia finally presented a project of the new stadium, but no construction started. In December 2003, the old Eden stadium was torn down and Slavia announced that the new stadium would be opened on October 19, 2005, however, by October 2005 the construction had not even started. It took another year to start. The project had to be scaled down to lower the construction cost from 1.8 billion Czech crowns to less than 1 billion. The construction eventually started in October 2006.
Despite the stadium not being fully finished, it was opened on May 7, 2008 with an exhibition match against
Oxford University A.F.C.Oxford University Association Football Club is an English football club representing the University of Oxford.-History:Formed in 1872, the club was a giant of the 1870s, winning the FA Cup 2-0 against Royal Engineers in 1874 and finishing the competition as runners up in 1873, 1877 and 1880, the...
. Many former Slavia stars (such as
Pavel KukaPavel Kuka is a former Czech football forward.Kuka started and finished his career at Slavia Praha, playing with the club from 1989–93 and then from 2000–05. He has also played for 1. FC Kaiserslautern , 1. FC Nuremberg , and VfB Stuttgart...
,
Patrik BergerPatrik Berger is a retired Czech footballer. He has played in Czech Republic, Germany, and England. He is best remembered for his time at Liverpool....
,
Jan SuchopárekJan Suchopárek is a former Czech football defender. He played for Czechoslovakia and later the Czech Republic, for both he played total 61 matches and scored 4 goals....
and
Ivo KnoflíčekIvo Knoflíček is a Czech football coach and a former player. He played for Czechoslovakia, for which he played 38 matches and scored 7 goals. At the club level, he played mostly for SK Slavia Praha....
) took part in this match. Slavia won 5-0.
The first competitive match at the new stadium was played on May 17, 2008 against
JablonecFK Baumit Jablonec is a Czech professional football club based in the town of Jablonec nad Nisou, playing in the top flight of Czech football, the Gambrinus Liga.- Historical names :...
, the match ended 2-2, Slavia secured the
Gambrinus LigaThe Gambrinus liga is a Czech professional league for football clubs. At the top of the Czech football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is contested by 16 clubs, operating a system of promotion and relegation with the Czech 2. Liga. Seasons run from August to May,...
title in this final match of the
2007/08 seasonThe 2007–08 Gambrinus liga was the fifteenth season of Czech Republic's top-tier of football. The season started on August 4, 2007 and concluded on May 17, 2008.-League standings:* 1...
.
International matches
Synot Tip Arena has hosted two competitive matches and one friendly match of the Czech national team.
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Concerts
| Date | Performer(s) | Reference |
| 3 June 2008 |
Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
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| 8 August 2008 |
Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band from Leyton in east London, formed in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. Since their inception, the band's discography has grown to include a total of thirty-six albums: fifteen studio albums; eleven live albums; four EPs; and six...
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| 17 August 2008 |
R.E.M. R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...
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| 25 June 2009 |
Depeche ModeDepeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex. The group's original line-up consisted of Dave Gahan , Martin Gore , Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke...
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| 20 July 2010 |
P!nk Alecia Beth Moore , better known by her stage name Pink , is an American singer-songwriter, musician and actress....
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Other uses
The stadium is occasionally used for other events beside football, such as concerts or other sports matches.
The stadium was used for the final
rugbyRugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
match of the
2009–10 KB Extraliga seasonThe 2009–10 KB Extraliga competition was a Czech domestic rugby club competition operated by the Česká Rugbyová Unie . It began on August 29, 2009 with a match between Tatra Smíchov and Petrovice at the Stadion ragby Císařka in Prague, and continued through to the final at the Synot Tip Arena on...
.
There is a hotel and a fan shop in the northern stand, and various other facilities (bar,
McDonald'sMcDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
,
Komerční bankaKomerční banka is one of the main banks in the Czech Republic. It serves about 1.5 million customers in more than 350 branches.The bank was founded in 1990 following separation of commercial activities from the former Státní banka československá . In 1992, the bank was partially privatized in...
branch, offices) in the main stand.
It has been proposed that NHL opening match of the 2011/2012 season could be played at Eden.
External links