Doosan Arena Explained

Doosan Arena
Nickname:Štruncovy sady
Fullname:Doosan Arena
Former Names:Stadion města Plzně (1955–2012)
Location:Štruncovy sady 3,Plzeň, Czech Republic, 301 12
Coordinates:49.75°N 13.3856°W
Broke Ground:1953
Built:1953–1955
Opened:1955
Renovated:2003, 2011
Owner:The city of Plzeň
Tenants:FC Viktoria Plzeň (1955–present)
Czech Republic national football team (selected matches)
Operator:FC Viktoria Plzeň
Surface:Grass
Field
Capacity:11,700[1]
Record Attendance:35.000[2]
Spartak Plzeň 1–7 FK Dukla Praha, September, 1961
Dimensions:105mby68mm (344feetby223feetm)
Website:www.fcviktoria.cz

Doosan Arena, previously known as Stadion města Plzně (Plzeň City Stadium), is a multi-purpose stadium in Plzeň, Czech Republic. It is located in Štrunc Park, near the confluence of the Mže and Radbuza rivers. The stadium is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home ground of FC Viktoria Plzeň. The stadium holds 11,700 people. It is also known as Stadion ve Štruncových sadech (Stadium in Štrunc Park), named after Emil Štrunc, a former regional chieftain of the Sokol Movement (some people incorrectly think it is named after a famous local footballer Stanislav Štrunc).

History

The stadium was opened in 1955 for the regional Spartakiad. After various construction enlargements, its capacity was 35,000 people, 7,600 of which were seated. In 2002–03 it underwent reconstruction to comply with the needs of football association and the capacity lowered significantly to 7,425 people.[3]

2011 reconstruction

In April 2011, work costing approximately 360 million Czech koruna got under way to modernise the stadium in line with UEFA criteria.[4] While the reconstruction was in progress, the capacity of the stadium was reduced to 3,500 spectators.[5] At the end of August 2011, part of the 2011 reconstruction had finished, leaving the stadium with a new capacity of around 8,500.[6] In December 2011, the reconstruction was finished with a resultant capacity of almost 12,000.[7]

In 2011, Plzeň played in the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League group stage. However, home matches were played at Synot Tip Arena in Prague due to the reconstruction. In January 2012, the stadium was approved for use in Plzeň's 2011–12 UEFA Europa League match with Schalke 04.[8]

Average Attendance

International matches

Doosan Arena has hosted one friendly and eight competitive matches of the Czech Republic national football team

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. http://www.fcviktoria.cz/zobraz.asp?t=stadion-info Základní informace
  2. Web site: Klub | Historie | Památné zápasy | FC VIKTORIA Plzeň.
  3. http://www.efotbal.cz/index.php?page=clanek&clanek=73339 eFotbal.cz: Plzeň chce nový stadion až za 400 milionů
  4. News: Rekonstrukce stadionu začala, do Štruncových sadů vjely bagry. cs . idnes.cz . 1 April 2011 . 16 August 2011.
  5. News: Plzeň začala na novém stadionu šetřit, škrtla vybavení za 24 milionů. cs . idnes.cz . 7 July 2011 . 16 August 2011.
  6. News: Fanouškovský kotel plzeňských fotbalistů roste. A stěhuje se. cs . idnes.cz . 27 August 2011 . 29 August 2011.
  7. News: Zájemci si mohou prohlédnout opravený stadion ve Štruncových sadech. cs . idnes.cz . 13 December 2011 . 17 December 2011.
  8. News: UEFA rozhodla: zápas Plzeň - Schalke se bude hrát na stadionu v Plzni . cs . . 16 January 2012 . 20 January 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120120012834/http://sport.ihned.cz/fotbal/c1-54440270-uefa-rozhodla-zapas-plzen-schalke-se-bude-hrat-na-stadionu-v-plzni . 20 January 2012 . dead .