Sazka Arena
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Sazka Arena in Prague, Czech Republic is one of the most modern multifunctional arenas in Europe. It was built in time for the 2004 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships. Its capacity of 18,000 makes it one of the largest arenas in Europe, and one of very few built on the scale of the NHL/NBA arenas outside North America.
Sazka Arena is the home of Czech Extraliga team HC Slavia Praha. It hosted the Final Four of the Euroleague in 2006. Sazka Arena has hosted number of concerts since its opening including those of Madonna, Depeche Mode, R.E.M., Queen, Luciano Pavarotti, Phill Collins, Slade, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Guns N' Roses, Pearl Jam, Bryan Adams, Christina Aguilera, Shakira, Linkin Park, Gwen Stefani and others.
[edit] History
The idea of building new arena in Prague came on the heels of the "golden era" of Czech ice hockey: winning 4 gold medals in a row. The arena was proposed to be built in time to host the 2003 world championship tournament in ice hockey, but due to unforeseen complications with the investors the ice hockey governing body had to switch that tournament to Finland. The arena's main backer then became Sazka a.s., a Czech betting company.
The construction of the arena (which began in September 2002) was not without problems, but it finally finished in time to host the 2004 tournament.
[edit] Technical facts
- Number of floors: 6
- Floor space: 35,000 m²
- Capacity: up to 18,000 spectators
- Club and Luxury seats: 2,460
- Skyboxes: 66
- Party Boxes: 4
- Places in bars,restaurants and cafés: 2,900
- Parking: 280 places
- Population of its catchment area: 15 to 18 million people
[edit] External links
- Official website of the Sazka Arena
- The Sazka Arena interior during a ping-pong tournament
- The interior as seen from the luxury seats
- Aerial view of Sazka Arena
| Preceded by Zimní Stadion Eden -2004 | HC Slavia Praha Home Arena 2004- | Succeeded by current |
| Preceded by Hartwall Areena Helsinki | IIHF World Championships Final Venue 2004 | Succeeded by Albert Schultz Eishalle Vienna |
| Preceded by Olimpiisky Arena Moscow | Euroleague Final Venue 2006 | Succeeded by Athens Olympic Indoor Hall Athens |
de:Sazka Arena fr:Sazka Arena he:סאזקה ארינה pl:Sazka Arena
