A 50-cm color image of Great Strahov Stadium, Prague, Czech Republic collected on April 19, 2015 by Pléiades 1A. To see this stadium in SPOT 6/7 1.5-meter resolution (and even from data collected on the same day!), check out this month’s feature on SPOTMaps. Image photo enhanced by Apollo Mapping. © CNES 2015, Distribution Airbus Defense and Space / Spot Image S.A., France, all rights reserved.

This month we jump back over the “great pond” from the United States to the Czech Republic, for this stop on Pléiades 1 Stadium of the Month: Great Strahov Stadium.

Name & Its Origin: In its native tongue of Czech, Great Strahov Stadium is known as Stadion Evžena Rošického, or simply as Strahov in English. The enormous stadium is named for the district of Prague in which it is located, Strahov.

Location: Great Strahov Stadium is situated in the historic Czech city of Prague some 1,300 meters west of the Vltava River’s bank. The stadium is approximately 335 meters above sea level on the crest of Petřín hill which overlooks the old city.

Stadium Capacity/Size, Architect & Build Date: The Czech stadium was built in 1926 by the Communist regime which controlled the nation then. It was designed by architect Alois Dryák, and was originally constructed of wood. In 1932, it was converted to concrete and then upgraded in 1948 and 1975. The standing room only capacity of the stadium appeared to range from 220,000 to 250,000 with seating for only 56,000 spectators. Great Strahov Stadium measures about 408 meters in its long dimension and then 295 meters in the opposite dimension.

Type of Field Surface: The 310 meter by 202 meter playing field is now occupied by 6 football/soccer pitches and then 2 futsal pitches. It appears that 6 fields are grass (likely the football/soccer pitches) and then two are artificial turf.

Key Sports Teams: Since the fall of the Communist regime in Czech in 1989, the stadium has fallen into disrepair. It is not being used for public sporting events but it is the training facility of the football team, Sparta Prague.

Most Popular Yearly Event: Besides being used as a training field for Sparta Prague, Great Strahov Stadium hosts semi-periodic rock concerts, such as Aerosmith in 1994, Bon Jovi in 1993 and George Michael in 2007. In 2010, it was also site of the WFDF World Ultimate Club Championships.

Fun Factoids: (1) When it was used as a live sports stadium, Great Strahov Stadium was the largest in the world only eclipsed as the largest sporting venue by Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the United States. (2) The stadium hosted more than 750,000 gymnasts and 2,000,000 spectators during the 1960, 1965, 1975, 1980 and 1985 spartakiads. These were massive choreographed gymnastic events and were part of the Sokol movement tradition. (3) During the 1960’s, Great Strahov Stadium even hosted motor racing events. (4) The biggest concerts held at Strahov according to estimates are: The Rolling Stones on August 18, 1990 and August 5, 1995 with some 100,000 to 150,000 fans per event; Pink Floyd on September 7, 1994 with 110,000 fans (perhaps 10,000 more unofficial fans too); and U2 on August 14, 1997 with 62,000 fans.

The Pléiades 1 High-Resolution Satellite Constellation

The Pléiades 1 constellation (or at least part of it!) has been in orbit since December 2011 and if you have not had a chance to check out any sample imagery, take a few moments and have a look at the gallery on our website. If you work with high resolution imagery, you should consider Pléiades 1 for your next geospatial project.

A variety of Pléiades 1 products are available from both a growing archive and as a new collection, including 50-centimeter (cm) pansharpened imagery and 50-cm panchromatic – 2-meter (m) 4-band multispectral bundles. We are happy to discuss the technical specifications, pricing and tasking options available with this satellite constellation.

Working with Pléiades 1 since the launch of the first twin satellite, P1A, we have noticed that:

• Airbus Defense and Space is able to deliver on their tasking feasibilities.

The Apollo Mapping sales team can answer any questions you might have about the high resolution satellite constellation, Pléiades 1. We can be reached anytime at (303) 993-3863 or sales@apollomapping.com.

More sample images and technical information about Pléiades 1A and 1B can be found on our website here.