ČEZ Stadion

The steel lamellar roof is the defining feature of the ČEZ Stadion in Kladno.

Banners line the upper tier in the first photo, a row of blue squares with white numerals marking the club’s past: 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980. They do not promise a return to those years; they simply state the years exist. A single white banner hangs nearby carrying the number 11, retired from circulation.

The team, Rytíři Kladno, stands on the ice in the first image, waving to a crowd that is not full. The mascot, a knight in armour, stands among them. The glass barriers around the rink are clear, showing the advertisements on the boards and the camera on a tripod in the corner of the third photo. The surface is ice, hard and white, marked with the red centre circle.

The stadium was opened in 1949, initially as an open-air rink before the roof structure gave it its current form. It is not the largest arena in the country, but it holds 5,200 people tightly enough to feel the noise of the game. The city owns the ground. The steel roof is the thing that makes it stand apart from the modern halls built with concrete and glass, a skeleton that has held the snow off the ice for more than half a century.