O2 (Sazka) arena celebrates five years since its opening

Prague - The multi-purpose O2 Arena in Vysočany will celebrate its fifth anniversary since opening on Friday. During its operation, more than three million visitors have bought a ticket to the hall. A total of 560 events have taken place here, the majority of which were sporting events, particularly hockey matches. Zdeněk Zikmund, spokesman for Bestsport, the company that operates the arena, told ČTK. The hall was completed in 2004 and hosted its first major event, the Ice Hockey World Championship.
    According to Zikmund, the visitor record in one of the most modern multi-purpose halls in the Czech Republic was set by a concert of American pop singer Madonna in September 2006, which attracted 18,628 spectators. Almost 18,000 people also attended a recent concert by the Australian band AC/DC, while several hundred fewer fans attended the Ice Hockey World Championship or the finals of the hockey extraliga.
    "We don't have the total numbers of spectators, but it will be around 3.2 million people," Zikmund said. Of this, more than 1.1 million people came to the hall to watch matches of the Slavia Prague hockey club, which uses the arena as its home stadium. Of the 560 events held in the hall, more than 60 percent were sporting events, while concerts accounted for just under 15 percent. The rest were shared by various social events, ceremonies, and exhibitions.
    According to Zikmund, the number of organized events and visitors increased by nearly 20 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of this year. In the coming months, artists such as singer Tina Turner, Karel Gott, and the band Simply Red will perform here. For the third time, Russian figure skater Evgeni Plushenko will present his exhibition "Kings of the Ice Arena" at the beginning of April.
    The Sazka company opened the arena on March 27, 2004, with workers spending 16 months on its construction. The establishment of the new hockey arena conditioned the organization of the Ice Hockey World Championship in the Czech Republic by the International Ice Hockey Federation.
    At the time of its inception, according to the owners, the hall was the most modern facility of its kind in Europe. The total construction costs are estimated at six to nine billion crowns. The stadium has a capacity of 18,000 seats, and there are 1,700 rooms across six floors. The arena is operated by Bestsport, 90 percent of which is owned by shareholders of Sazka, with the remainder held by Sazka itself.
    To finance the construction, Sazka issued bonds worth 215 million euros, with a final maturity in 2021. At the time of issuance in 2006, the size of the bond issue was approximately 6.1 billion crowns. Sazka replaced the original issuance from 2004, which amounted to 175 million euros and had a ten-year maturity.
    At the beginning of March, the name of the arena also celebrated its first anniversary. The hall was originally named Sazka Arena, but last year the name changed to O2 Arena. The telecommunications company Telefónica O2 has the right to use the name of the hall for another four years under the contract. Even though the arena was renamed a year ago, the tram stop in its immediate vicinity is still named Sazka Arena.