Štadión Antona Malatinského – historical stadium description

The stadium nearly at the heart of Trnava was built back in 1921, before Spartak Trnava even began to function. Initially it had one wooden grandstand, later with remaining sides built on landfill. The west side was rebuilt to concrete in 1963 and in 1968 an even greater eastern stand was added, leaving little room for the running track that existed beforehand.

Final transition from athletic to football-specific mode went on in1972-73, when both ends were rebuilt into large open terraces. At that time and even more from 1978 onwards (after floodlight installation) it was among the best across Czechoslovakia. Years later, in 1997, it was converted into an all-seater, setting the final capacity below the 19,000 for its late years.

From 1998 onwards it beared the name of Anton Malatinsky, famous player and coach who died several years before. Aside from Spartak’s games, it also hosted other events, notably the U21 Euro 2000.

Its history ends in 2013, when complete reconstruction into City Arena began. Interestingly, the west side was retained in a way. Its prefabricates were replaced completely, but the shape was maintained.