In May, a final decision will be made on what will happen with Evžen Rošický Stadium at Prague’s Strahov. The facility has been unused for over a year. The last team to use it were the reserves of Sparta Prague.

New opportunity

Recently, the Football Association of the Czech Republic (FAČR) announced an international tender for the use of the land. Applications can be submitted until April of this year, followed by an evaluation of offers. It is already known that among the interested parties is Sparta Prague. The club declares that after demolishing the Evžen Rošický Stadium, they would like to build a new facility on the site to replace the epet Arena. This initiative aligns with the broader interest in sports infrastructure development, also seen in the increasing popularity of Czech sports betting sites, which offer fans a way to connect more deeply with the sports they love.

The main condition is that the area at Strahov continues to serve athletes. Basically, there are two options: either a new, modern stadium with a capacity of at least 30,000 seats, where the Czech national team would also play its matches, or an advanced training center. According to experts' estimates, the land value is around one billion Czech crowns. The Federation has been grappling with problems for several years, and in the past, the possibility of selling the land was considered, but it was ultimately rejected by the general assembly at last year's vote.

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Stadium or training center?

In preparing the tender in recent months, the consulting firm Deloitte has also been assisting. According to their representative, Ondřej Schmila, a stadium or training center could be built at Strahov no later than 2035, but it is said to happen earlier. The tender also allows for the possibility of exchanging the land for another plot where a stadium or training center could be built; it should be located in Prague or in the wider city district. However, the most likely scenario seems to be at Strahov, where the building owner would be the tenant for the next thirty years, and after the term, would become the full owner.

We assume that the interested party will build the training center efficiently and mainly for themselves. This means that they will not be motivated by saving money, but by ensuring that the infrastructure is of the highest quality, notes Ondřej Schmila, a lawyer from Deloitte.

Foreign parties may also participate in the competition, allegedly exploring possibilities in recent weeks. The evaluation of the submitted offers will take place in April, and the winner should be selected after the general assembly at the end of May.

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Czech champion enters game

So far, only Sparta Prague has expressed public interest. We will participate in the tender. We are interested in building a modern stadium at Strahov, which will push Czech football forward, wrote Tomáš Křivda, the current CEO of the club, on X.

A few months ago, he also commented on Sparta's plans for the development of the Strahov area: We estimate the cost to be between 5 to 10 billion Czech crowns. We need to build a stadium where other events besides football matches can take place. Only in this way will the facility have a chance to pay for itself. It must be multifunctional.

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