The abandoned football stadium in Brno.

The abandoned football stadium in Brno.

Luzankami stadium in Brno has been abandoned since 2001. But it’s still there very close to the center of Brno, even if it’s all overgrown and broken down. And it has a fantastic story to tell.

I was in the Czech Republic last week and spent an afternoon visiting the abandoned football stadium in Brno. It was really interesting to walk around this massive stadium. It’s in the middle of the city, but totally overgrown and just a ruin these days. But the stadium has a lot of former glory. And also some recent Glory.

Visiting the abandoned football stadium in Brno.

Visiting the abandoned football stadium in Brno.

Luzankami stadium was once the biggest stadium in former Czechoslovakia, holding up to 50 000 spectators for games. The stadium was abandoned in 2001 though, as it did not meet international stadiums. A new stadium was built and Luzankami was left to rot. Vegetation soon took over and homeless people moved into the broken stadium.

Broken windows and graffiti.

Broken windows and graffiti.

There was a lot of talk about restoring the stadium. But shifting governments could not agree on doing it, so it became a victim of bad politics.

The former entrance to the stadium.

The former entrance to the stadium.

Luzankami had a fantastic testimonial though.

Petr Svancara was the former captain of Zbrojovka Brno. When he decided to retire after a long career as a professional footballer around Europe, he wanted to do it in the stadium where he grew up. He gathered hundreds of volunteers, who came to the stadium every weekend for months. They cleaned up the stadium. Planted new grass. And made enough repairs so that the old stadium could again host a crowd. On June 27th in 2015, the stadium was filled with thousands of fans again, saying goodbye to Petr Svancara as a player and to Luzankami as a stadium.

Entering the Luzankami stadium in 2018.

Entering the Luzankami stadium in 2018.

The abandoned football stadium in Brno was full of fans again for the last time. This game is worth more than any Champions League final if you ask me.

Thousands of people turned up for the last game at the Luzankami stadium.

Thousands of people turned up for the last game at the Luzankami stadium.

The stadium was left to rot again by authorities, after the game. These days the stadium is being used a little by the youth players to train at. The spectator areas are overgrown again. I hope that the place will not be torn down. At least it can stand as a monument of former glory. And as a reminder of the stadium that was never forgotten by its players and fans.

The stadium is once again overgrown and empty.

The stadium is once again overgrown and empty.

If you are a football fan visiting the Czech Republic, then I highly recommend you to visit the abandoned football stadium in Brno. It’s a very special place if you are a football nerd like me. The stadium is often open during day time hours. But even if it’s not: Then you can just climb through many of the holes that people have cut in the fence. Since the stadium is not being used, there should be no problem walking around there. Just don’t break anything or throw rubbish there. Things are already looking bad enough.

Luzankami.

Luzankami.

Brno is also a scenic city.

Football should not be your only reason to visit Brno. It’s actually a very pretty and pleasant city these days. I stayed right by the main square at a very pleasant hostel, that also had single rooms. While I was there, they had a local beer festival. So I could enjoy the old town center, while sipping beer from small local micro breweries.

If you would like to read a little story about a 6800 kilometre cycling trip I once did, in order to see a few football games, then you can do so on this link.

Sunset over the abandoned football stadium in Brno.

Sunset over the abandoned stadium in Brno.

3 Comments

  1. What a great story and the video says it all.
    Is there any way I can follow your blogs Claus?

  2. Another fascinating story, mate.

    I never even heard of this place when I was in Brno a few years agi, I wish I had, it looks amazing.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *