 O2 Arena in July 2018 | |
 Interactive map of O2 Arena | |
| Former names | Sazka Arena (2004 – March 2008) |
|---|---|
| Location | Ocelářská 460/2, 190 00Prague 9 –Libeň,Czech Republic |
| Coordinates | 50°6′17.14″N14°29′36.59″E / 50.1047611°N 14.4934972°E /50.1047611; 14.4934972 |
| Operator | BESTSPORT akciová společnost |
| Capacity | Concerts: 20,000 Ice hockey: 17,383 |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | September 2002 |
| Built | 2004 |
| Opened | 27 March 2004[1] |
| Construction cost | 17 billionCZK € 630 Million |
| Architect | ATIP, a.s. – Vladimír Vokatý, Martin Vokatý, Jiří Vít |
| Tenants | |
| Czech Republic men's national ice hockey team (2004-present) HC Slavia Praha (Czech Extraliga) (2004–2015) HC Sparta Praha (Czech Extraliga) (2015–present) HC Kladno (Czech Extraliga) (3 games) (2012) HC Lev Praha (KHL) (occasional games) (2012–2014) | |
O2 Arena (stylised asO2 arena) is a multi-purposearena, inPrague,Czech Republic.
It is home toHC Sparta Prague of theCzech Extraliga and is thethird-largest ice hockey arena in Europe. It has hosted important sport events such as threeIce Hockey World Championships (2004,2015 and2024), the first edition of the prestigious tennisLaver Cup, theEuropean Athletics Indoor Championships, theEuroleague Final Four 2006, the WorldFloorball Championship, the2012 Davis Cup finals, fourFed Cup finals, as well as a handful ofNHL andKHL games, including a2014 Gagarin Cup final.
It also hosts stage shows, such as concerts, and other large-scale events. The highest arena capacity reached was 20,208 people.[2]
The idea of building a new arena in Prague came on the heels of the "golden era" of Czechice hockey: winning the gold medal at the 1998 Winter Olympics and three gold medals in a row at theIce Hockey World Championships from 1999 to 2001. 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 issues, but it was opened in March 2004 as Sazka Arena, in time to host the2004 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships.[3] In March 2008, the building was renamed O2 Arena.[4]
In March 2011, Sazka filed for insolvency due to debts from building the arena and other problems.[5][6] Sazka was then re-organized and financially stabilized.
From its opening until 2015, it was home toHC Slavia Prague of theCzech Extraliga. Slavia won the national championship on home ice in Game 7 of the 2008 Extraliga finals againstHC Karlovy Vary 4–0 in front of a then-league-record crowd of 17,117. For two seasons, 2012–13 and 2013–14, O2 Arena also hosted occasional home games ofHC Lev Prague of theKontinental Hockey League. The club played its home games of the2014 Gagarin Cup Finals at O2 Arena, attracting the three largest crowds in league history.[7] In 2015, Slavia was relegated to the 1.liga, and the club chose to move back to the smaller Zimní stadion Eden, the team's former home and current training centre. In its place, O2 Arena reached an agreement with cross-town rivals Sparta Prague on 24 June 2015. Sparta ownership cited the need for significant renovations atTipsport Arena as the main reason for the move.[8]
In 2015, O2 Arena co-hosted the IIHF World Championship with ČEZ Aréna in Ostrava for the second time. This time, the tournament re-established the record for World Championship attendance, which stood until being surpassed in 2024 with the tournament held in the same two cities.[9]
In 2017, it hosted the 1st edition ofLaver Cup international indoor hard court men's tennis tournament between Europe and Team World.
In 2019, a multifunctional congress centre,O2 universum, opened up next to the Arena.
In 2021, the venue was scheduled to host some group phase matches at theFIBA EuroBasket 2021, which the country was to cohost withGeorgia inTbilisi,Germany inBerlin/Cologne andItaly inMilan. The event was canceled.[10]
In 2021, the Stages Hotel with capacity of around 600 people, opened right next to the Arena.[11] This included a creation of a big pedestrian zone and renewed public space around the eastern entrances to the arena.
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Media related toO2 Arena (Prague) at Wikimedia Commons
| Events and tenants | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | HC Slavia Praha Home Arena 2004 – 2015 | Succeeded by Zimní Stadion Eden |
| Preceded by | Euroleague Final Four Venue 2006 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | IFF World Championships Finals Venue 2008 | Succeeded by TBD |
| Preceded by | CEV Champions League Final Venue 2009 | Succeeded by Arena Łódź Łódź |
| Preceded by | Fed Cup Final Venue 2011 2014,2015 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Davis Cup Final venue 2012 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | European Athletics Indoor Championships Venue 2015 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | HC Sparta Praha Home Arena 2015 – | Succeeded by current |
Authority control databases: Geographic |
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