O2 Arena (Prague)

HC Slavia Prague ( since 2004)

The O2 Arena is a multi-purpose hall in the Czech capital Prague. It was built for the Ice Hockey World Championship in 2004. The hall is located northeast of the city center in District 9, Českomoravská. It offers 17,000 spectators, 18,000 for concerts. The main users of the hall is the ice hockey club HC Slavia Prague.

History

Although the Czech Ice Hockey Association and the City of Prague for some time had the idea of ​​building a large hall for sports and cultural events in the capital, only offered the Ice Hockey World Championship for Men 2004, the opportunity to realize these plans. Foundation stone was laid in September 2002, in 2004 the construction was completed.

Rebranding

From the opening on 24 March 2004 to 29 February 2008, the hall was known as the Sazka Arena, after a rebranding on 1 March 2008 it is officially called O2 Arena, after the telephone company Telefónica O2 Czech Republic, part of Telefónica Europe - group, has secured the naming rights for five years.