Sparta Prague plans to leave Letná, build new stadium in Strahov

One of Prague's most famous football clubs is planning to leave its longtime home. Sparta Prague has played in Letná for more than a century, but is planning to move citing the need for a larger capacity, club representative Tomáš Křivda told Radiožurnál this weekend.

Sparta Prague has been playing at the Letná stadium since 1917. According to Křivda, renovating the current stadium is not an option as it is no longer possible to significantly increase the number of fans it accommodates.

"We will definitely have to proceed with the construction of a new stadium, because if we were to just rebuild and further modernize the current stadium, it no longer offers us opportunities to increase the capacity and comfort of visitors," says Křivda. "We are already running out of space."

Sparta Prague's stadium at Letná holds approximately 20,000 fans. A new home for the club has not been confirmed, but according to Křivda, the primary option is to build a new stadium in Prague's Strahov neighborhood which would hold up to 30,000 fans.

Strahov is already home to several sports facilities, including the largest stadium in the world by seating capacity: Strahov Stadium, which can hold up to 220,000 spectators, and is the size of nine full football pitches.

Preliminary plans call for Sparta Prague's new stadium to be built on the site of the current Evžen Rošický Stadium.

The move to a new stadium is expected to cost hundreds of millions of Czech crowns, and the club will need to secure funding from private investors and potentially the government. New public transport solutions would also need to be created to serve the stadium.

The new stadium would not only provide a modern and larger home for Sparta Prague but could also be used for other sporting and cultural events, and be a home venue for the Czech Republic's national football team.

The decision to leave the Letná stadium has been met with mixed reactions from fans, with some expressing sadness at leaving the historic site, while others welcome the prospect of a new and improved stadium. The club has not yet officially announced a timeline for the construction of the new stadium, or when they will leave Letná.