January 17, 1931: Prague hosts its first hockey game on artificial ice on Štvanice Island
Štvanice Winter Stadium, designed in 1932 by functionalist architect Josef Fuchs, was the first arena in Czechoslovakia with an artificial ice surface. It hosted the country's first-ever ice hockey world championship win in 1947, as well as the first televised hockey game in 1955.
The first game ever played at the Štvanice Winter Stadium was on 17 January 1931, when LTC Praha faced Canada’s Manitoba University Graduates. Although the stadium was still unfinished at the time, the match attracted seven thousand spectators.
The first step toward modern hockey
The decision to build a winter stadium came after the success of the Czechoslovak team at the 1929 European Championship. The city of Prague selected Štvanice Island for the project and entrusted it to functionalist architect Josef Fuchs. The refrigeration technology was supplied by Brno Engineering Works.
Construction progressed quickly, allowing the first match to be played even before the entire complex was completed.
A lesson in the Canadian school of hockey
The opening game ended in a 2–0 victory for the Canadian team. Contemporary newspapers wrote “the Canadian players skate with a lightness that is new to the local audience.” A day later, however, brought a surprise: the Czechoslovak national team drew 2:2 against the Canadian selection.
Radio commentator Josef Laufer reported: “Today on Štvanice we are witnessing a performance that few would have expected just a few years ago.” For the Canadian team, it was their first lost point against a European opponent.
Official opening not until 1932
The economic crisis slowed construction, and the stadium was officially opened only on 6 November 1932, hosting a friendly match against France. The ice surface, measuring 90 by 34 meters, afforded space for both hockey and public skating. Behind one of the goal posts, there was also a smaller training rink, known among players as the “noodle.”
Štvanice in the years that followed
In the following decades, Štvanice became the site of major sporting events, including four Ice Hockey World Championships. In 1955, it was from here that the first television broadcast of a hockey game in Czechoslovakia was transmitted.
From the 1960s onward, however, the stadium gradually lost its importance, and in 2011 it was demolished. Still, January 17, 1931 is remembered as the day when Prague first played on artificial ice — and when Czechoslovak hockey set out on the road to international recognition.
