Spectators at the World Cup in May drank around 300,000 liters of beer while watching the battles on the ice, 40,000 more than during the previous home championship in Prague and Ostrava in 2015. In the Ostravar arena this year, it was 60,000 liters of Ostravar, while in Prague’s O2 arena 240 thousand liters of Staropramen tens.
All beers were brewed by Pivovary Staropramen, which also includes the Ostravar brewery. The latter has been the general partner of the Vítkovice hall since 2016 and in 2021 extended the cooperation for another five years. “It’s simple: the supplier of beer to the Ostravar arena is the Ostravar brewery,” Petr Handl, chairman of the board of Vítkovice Arena, wrote to SZ Byznys.
Staropramen started supplying its ten beer to the Prague hall since its inception in 2004 and nine years later defended the contract to supply the arena with beer. According to information from SZ Byznys, this contract will expire at the end of this year. The company Bestsport, which operates the hall and, like the hall, belongs to the PPF company, therefore issued a tender for a new supplier.
“The selection procedure is currently underway. We should receive offers by the end of the month, we would like to evaluate them during the summer and make a decision based on the results,” says Bestsport spokesperson Zuzana Krejčíková. The winning brewery should then start delivering its beer to the O2 arena in the course of the next year.
The big four will battle it out for the arena
Bestsport approached four brewing companies. The offer to participate in the selection process was confirmed by SZ Byznys Pivovary Staropramen, Plzeňský Prazdroj and Budějovický Budvar. Staropramen breweries stand by the continuation of cooperation. “Staropramen breweries have been the official supplier of beer to the O2 arena for 20 years. Our company is interested in continuing this partnership,” said company spokeswoman Denisa Mylbachrová.
Prague brewers are also favored by the fact that the beer pipes and taps are not the property of the hall, but belong to the Staropramen Breweries, which installed them in the hall at the start of operations. “A new supplier would have to agree on a purchase or lease with them, that’s an additional cost,” said a source from the brewing industry, who did not wish to be named, to SZ Byznys.
Pilsenský Prazdroj has not yet decided whether it will participate in the selection process. “We are currently dealing with the options and conditions of the tender and are considering whether we will participate in it,” said Prazdroj’s commercial director Roman Trzaskalik.
On the other hand, the state-owned Budějovický Budvar will participate in the tender. “We have been invited and will participate. However, further details will be communicated to us only after all candidates have been registered. The specific price offer consists of the price of the beer as well as the marketing support offered by the brewery,” said Budvar spokeswoman Barbora Povišerová.
The spokeswoman of the Czech branch of the Heineken concern, Dita Jacobson, did not respond to the editor’s questions. In an earlier statement, however, she did not refuse participation in the tender. “In the event that there was an open tender for a supplier of beer to the O2 arena, as one of the leading brewing companies in the Czech Republic, we would not object to participation,” wrote Jacobson.
Some breweries, which Bestsport did not invite to the tender, would stand to supply beer to the O2 arena. For example, Pivovary Lobkowicz, according to its spokesperson Martina Husková, could brew a special beer for the O2 arena according to the operator’s requirements and with a preferred name.
During the 20 years of operation of the arena, according to the operator, approximately six million liters of beer were drunk in it, i.e. an average of 300,000 liters per season. However, for breweries, supplying the arena is not very lucrative due to the large fees to the operators, and the main benefit is the visibility of the brand in front of the hundreds of thousands of people who visit the hall every year.
Fans would like more choice
The most frequent visitors to the O2 arena are hockey fans of Sparta Prague, which plays home extraleague matches in the hall. According to Jan Konáš from the management of the Sparta Hockey Supporters fan club, some hockey fans no longer drink beer during the game.
“For a few seasons now, I’ve been one of those people who have a few beers before and after the match in one of the nearby pubs and drink water during the match,” says Konáš.
According to him, the range of beers in the O2 arena could be more varied. “But I would definitely welcome more variety. It would be great if, in addition to the big partner, the O2 arena also approached smaller Czech breweries and offered their beers in a few stands, perhaps only at selected matches and events. Similar to how it was sold in three places in the Radegast arena during the last play-off,” he adds.
