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Abandoned 50,000 capacity stadium to be DEMOLISHED after becoming overrun by nature following 20 years of neglect
AN abandoned 50,000 capacity stadium is set to be demolished after years of neglect.
The Za Luzankami Stadium in the Czech Republic was once the biggest stadium in Czechoslovakia, now it has sat empty for years and is in line to be resigned to the history books within the next year.
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The former home of FC Zbrojcka Brno, Za Luzankami has hosted international fixtures and even holds the record for the highest-attended game in the history of the Czech first league.
However, after the modernisation of stadiums and updates to Fifa and Czech FA criteria for the quality of grounds, Zbrojcka were forced to leave their historic home in 2001.
Since then it has sat empty, disappearing into the overgrown nature and looking worse for wear as each year of neglect passes.
In 2012, plans were drawn up to allow Zbrojovka to return thanks to the reconstruction of the stadium, but amid financial concerns, the project was put on hold.
Now plans are in place to finally demolish the ground after authorities decided to remove the colossal building back in 2023.
According to Czech outlet Brno Daily, the city council are currently looking for a contractor to demolish the stands after areas surrounding the ground have been closed due to safety reasons.
It's claimed that the demolition could happen as early as October of this year, but must be completed by February 2026 at the latest.
£5.7MILLION.
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For now, the stadium remains in its overgrown state of disrepair until the the demolition is completed.
Plans have outlined how the ground will be grassed over and become freely accessible to the public once it has been knocked to the ground.
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While there is already thought to be dialogue over further development of the area in the future.
Fortunately fans already got to say their emotional farewell to the stadium in 2015, after Zbrojovka captain Petr Svancara took it upon himself to start a crowdfunding project to allow a goodbye game.
His campaign, which was backed by fans, eventually saw the stadium reopen in 2015 for 35,000 fans to watch one final match.
Svancara, who once revealed there was a crack running underneath the ground, discussed the dire state of the stadium in an interview with The Guardian.
He said: "When we came back for the first time, you could have shot a beautiful horror film there…
"The stadium had started to crumble and it was for political reasons.
"It needed reconstruction but nobody would take care of it. The club was moved to Srbska and Luzanky was filled with trees and bushes.
"Homeless people lived in the stands, and the vegetation that started to take over even became home for some rare species of bird.
"There was one funny pheasant that we ousted from the stadium when we came back but it kept returning several times – he simply came back home.
"Leaving Luzanki divided the fans into two groups – one of which loved Luzanky too much and did not want to go to another stadium
"That was the case with the older generation in particular. It hurt the identity of the club enormously."
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