The Letná Stadium ( ) is a football stadium in Prague. It is the home venue of AC Sparta Prague and often hosts the home matches of the Czech Republic national football team. The stadium's capacity is 18,887 seats.Stadion auf der offiziellen Website des Vereins , retrieved 15 March 2021,
History The first wooden stadium at its location opened in 1921. The origins of motorcycle speedway in Prague can be traced back to races held at the stadium, starting on 9 June 1928. It is unknown as to when the track was removed.
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, until 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. This necessitated Sparta playing league matches at the end of the 2000–01 season at the nearby Stadion Evžena Rošického.
In 1994, the stadium was reopened after a complete modernization. The capacity was lowered to 20,854 seats. In 2009 major changes took place at the stadium – barriers between sections were removed, two video screens were installed and infrared radiators were installed to heat the eastern stand. The capacity has been 18,887 since 2009.
Czech Republic national football team matches DateAttendanceHome teamResultAway teamCompetitionMatch report 26 April 1995 17,463Czech Republic 3–1 Netherlands UEFA Euro 1996 Q Report 6 September 1995 19,522Czech Republic 2–0 Norway UEFA Euro 1996 Q Report 15 November 1995 20,239Czech Republic 3–0 Luxembourg UEFA Euro 1996 Q Report 9 October 1996 19,223Czech Republic 0–0 Spain 1998 FIFA World Cup Q Report 2 April 1997 19,137Czech Republic 1–2 FR Yugoslavia 1998 FIFA World Cup Q Report 11 October 1997 5,428Czech Republic 3–0 Slovakia 1998 FIFA World Cup Q Report 19 August 1998 7,021Czech Republic 1–0 Denmark Friendly Report 9 June 1999 21,149Czech Republic 3–2 Scotland UEFA Euro 2000 Q Report 9 October 1999 21,362Czech Republic 2–0 Faroe Islands UEFA Euro 2000 Q Report 26 April 2000 4,972Czech Republic 4–1 Israel Friendly Report 28 March 2001 16,354Czech Republic 0–0 Denmark 2002 FIFA World Cup Q Report 25 April 2001 4,887Czech Republic 1–1 Belgium Friendly Report 6 October 2001 15,020Czech Republic 6–0 Bulgaria 2002 FIFA World Cup Q Report 14 November 2001 18,996Czech Republic 0–1 Belgium 2002 FIFA World Cup Q (P-O) Report 18 May 2002 15,077Czech Republic 1–0 Italy Friendly Report 6 September 2002 5,435Czech Republic 5–0 FR Yugoslavia Friendly Report 2 April 2003 17,150Czech Republic 4–0 Austria UEFA Euro 2004 Q Report 10 September 2003 18,356Czech Republic 3–1 Netherlands UEFA Euro 2004 Q Report 28 April 2004 11,802Czech Republic 0–1 Japan Friendly Report 2 June 2004 6,627Czech Republic 3–1 Bulgaria Friendly Report 9 October 2004 16,028Czech Republic 1–0 Romania 2006 FIFA World Cup Q Report 8 October 2005 17,478Czech Republic 0–2 Netherlands 2006 FIFA World Cup Q Report 16 November 2005 17,464Czech Republic 1–0 Norway 2006 FIFA World Cup Q (P-O) Report 3 June 2006 15,910Czech Republic 3–0 Trinidad and Tobago Friendly Report 15 November 2006 6,852Czech Republic 1–1 Denmark Friendly Report 24 March 2007 17,821Czech Republic 1–2 Germany UEFA Euro 2008 Q Report 12 September 2007 16,648Czech Republic 1–0 Republic of Ireland UEFA Euro 2008 Q Report 17 November 2007 15,651Czech Republic 3–1 Slovakia UEFA Euro 2008 Q Report 30 May 2008 11,314Czech Republic 3–1 Scotland Friendly Report 1 April 2009 14,956Czech Republic 1–2 Slovakia 2010 FIFA World Cup Q Report 10 October 2009 14,010Czech Republic 2–0 Poland 2010 FIFA World Cup Q Report 6 September 2011 7,322Czech Republic 4–0 Ukraine Friendly Report 7 October 2011 17,873Czech Republic 0–2 Spain UEFA Euro 2012 Q Report 11 November 2011 14,560Czech Republic 2–0 Montenegro UEFA Euro 2012 Q (P-O) Report 1 June 2012 17,102Czech Republic 1–2 Hungary Friendly Report 16 October 2012 16,160Czech Republic 0–0 Bulgaria 2014 FIFA World Cup Q Report 7 June 2013 18,235Czech Republic 0–0 Italy 2014 FIFA World Cup Q Report 3 September 2014 12,673Czech Republic 0–1 United States Friendly Report 9 September 2014 17,946Czech Republic 2–1 Netherlands UEFA Euro 2016 Q Report 10 October 2015 17,190Czech Republic 0–2 Turkey UEFA Euro 2016 Q Report 24 March 2016 14,580Czech Republic 0–1 Scotland Friendly Report 4 September 2016 10,731Czech Republic 0–0 Northern Ireland 2018 FIFA World Cup Q Report 7 June 2019 13,482Czech Republic 2–1 Bulgaria UEFA Euro 2020 Q Report 14 October 2019 9,139Czech Republic 2–3 Northern Ireland Friendly Report 8 June 2021 1,351Czech Republic 3–1 Albania Friendly Report 16 November 2021 10,076Czech Republic 2–0 Estonia 2022 FIFA World Cup Q Report¨ 26 March 2024 16,158Czech Republic 2–1 Armenia Friendly Report 11 October 2024 17,823Czech Republic 2–0 Albania 2024–25 UEFA Nations League Report¨ 31 March 2026 18,215Czech Republic 2–2(3–1 pen.) Denmark 2026 FIFA World Cup Q Report¨ 12 November 2026Czech Republic – Spain 2026–27 UEFA Nations League
Development of the name 1917–2003: Letná Stadium 2003–2007: Toyota Arena 2007–2009: AXA Arena 2009–2020: Generali Arena 2020–2022: Generali Česká pojišťovna Arena September 2022–November 2022: Letná Stadium November 2022–present: epet ARENA
Non-football activities 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, some 800,000 people assembled for anti-government demonstrations at the Letná plain. The speaking tribune was later removed.
Transport connections The stadium is served by the tram lines 1, 2, 8, 12, 25 and 26. The tram stop Sparta is in front of the stadium in Milada Horáková Street. The nearest metro stations are Vltavská to the east and Hradčanská to the west.
See also List of football stadiums in the Czech Republic Lists of stadiums
References
External links
Generali Arena at the official AC Sparta Prague website Photo gallery and data at Erlebnis-stadion.de