“HC Sparta Prague is celebrating the 115th anniversary of its inception, and throughout its existence, thanks to its presence in the capital city and the longstanding tradition it has built, has privilege of being a highly visible club. This gives us the opportunity to be not just a sports club, but rather a whole social phenomenon. On the other hand, this special position also brings responsibility, which of course we are very happy to accept,” says Petr Bříza, Chairman of the Board and owner of the club..
This means that in the 2018/2019 Extraliga season, Sparta will measure success not only by the on-ice performance of its A-team, but also outside of the rink in the implementation of other parts of its traditional long-term projects and, last but not least, in the area of youth hockey. “We do not want to present ourselves briefly and randomly. Our goal is always to be visible to and supportive of our partners and fans. We are honestly and continuously fulfilling our own club projects every year. With the humility and responsibility of Sparta´s tradition, we do not want to go anywhere, and we cannot,” says the chairman of the club with the red Spartan “S”.
The main motive of the upcoming season is the 115th anniversary of the club´s establishment. Sparta is not using just one game to honour the legacy of its rich history and legendary players, but instead will play six special games against traditional rivals. "This is a reminder of the great battles we’ve had with our most traditional rivals – Plzeň, Litvínov, Pardubice, Vítkovice, Zlín and, of course, Kometa Brno.”
One home game against each of the aforementioned teams will be played in the third set of jerseys, which feature a different shade of red than fans have become used to in recent years. These jerseys will be auctioned off after the six games have been played and the proceeds will be added to the total of the special jersey auction that Sparta Pays Tribute to Sparta´s jubilee tenth piece of the project.
“In 2019, we will celebrate the tenth year of Sparta Pays Tribute, and every year we also send a selected amount to the Foundation of the Police and Firemen and the Solidarity Military Fund under this project. During the ninth year we donated them 160 000 crowns (over 6000 Euros),” Bříza continues. “Our charitable and social responsibility is not just an empty term, but it is also reflected in concrete actions.”
Another regular event, in addition to the Sparta Pays Tribute and Spartan Blood, is the “Grow with Sparta” project, which is one of the newer ones. Within it, the number of family games with special events for the youngest Sparta fans is being increased to 10 for the upcoming season. These are all Sunday matinees, which will start at 15:00 (3pm).
The aim for the upcoming season is to keep up the trend of increasing average attendance, which has increased by more than two and a half thousand spectators per game compared to the last year at Tipsport arena in Holešovice. Last season saw another record increase in home attendance at Extraliga games to 8,708 spectators at O2 arena.
“Working with fans is very important to us, and that´s why the Sparta Membership Club, which we founded this year, has many advantages. We are the only Extraliga club in Prague and its surroundings, so of course we want to emphasize our presence in the region, but we also want to reach Sparta fans from all over the country. They are important to us because they often attend our games in large numbers. In addition, the awareness of Sparta in smaller towns is increasing with enthusiasm for Sparta,” says Bříza. “The Sparta Membership Club has the ambition of associating Sparta fans from all over the country and give them the opportunity to be part of the club.”
Sparta continues alongside strong partners!
Of course, Sparta partners are also members of the club, headed by the general partner, company BILLA. “BILLA is entering its third season of partnership with Sparta this week. Although last season was not too successful on the ice, we believe our cooperation is a very good fit for our company,” said Jaroslaw Szczypka, CEO of BILLA Czech Republic."We are particularly pleased with the support and intensive youth work. In the past year, we have supported not only youth hockey, but also the projects associated with it. In the summer, the Summer Hockey School and the popular BILLA Cup, which is one of the best youth tournaments in Europe, are traditionally held. We also played a key role in off-ice projects, such as the Sparta project for secondary schools or Grow with Sparta," he says.
"We have a third year of mutual cooperation ahead of us. I firmly believe Sparta will be successful. During the last two general meetings, the team´s commitment and motivation have been great, and they have succeeded. For the whole organization, I wish Sparta all the best, to the new coach and his staff, the players and fans, and everybody has the health, motivation, willingness and determination to win games in the upcoming Extraliga season," Szczypka says about 2018/2019 season.
Merkur Insurance is a new member of the family of Sparta´s main partners. „As health insurance company, Merkur has a strong interest in promoting an active lifestyle through sports. After our entrance to the Czech market by cooperating with the Pliskova sisters, we are very pleased to have entered with HC Sparta Praha a cooperation in the field of ice hockey. We wish Sparta all the best for the upcoming season and look forward to future projects together,“ says Gerald Kogler, CEO of Merkur Versicherung.
„Sparta Praha is a top-class ice hockey club with long history, like Merkur insurance as Austrias oldest insurance company. Ice hockey is the most popular sport in the Czech Republic and we appreciate the importance and influence the club has in Prague, in the country and even abroad. Like HC Sparta Praha, Merkur is aiming for high achievements and committed to offer the best services and products for our customers,“ explains Kogler.
Also, Mastercard is continuing as a main sponsor of Sparta. "We are looking forward to to the upcoming games because Sparta gave us and our partners a lot of nice emotions and it is a unique club within Prague and the whole Czech Republic. That´s why we have decided to continue and support our cooperation into the upcoming season," says Miroslav Lukeš, CEO of Mastercard for the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
The most important is the new Mastercard sector inside O2 arena. "We want to continue to give all Sparta fans the ultimate comfort and convenience to watch their favourite team, and we have decided to create a unique Mastercard sector where, for the price of a standard ticket, Mastercard cardholders will receive preferred check-in at the entrance to the arena, and at the same time they will have their refreshments delivered right to their seat."
