Pasienky Stadium

Pasienky was built as a multi-sport complex in the early 1960s and has since shifted from being one club's home to a stand-in venue for much of Slovak football's elite.

Construction and opening

Work started in 1963 and finished four years later, producing what was then the largest facility of its kind in Slovakia. The first league match came on 20 August 1967, when Inter Bratislava thrashed Škoda Plzeň 7–0. Floodlights arrived in the mid-1970s: the first match under lights was played on 11 March 1975 against Dynamo Kyiv (3–4), followed by the first evening league fixture on 16 August 1975 against Bohemians Prague (1–0).

Major renovations

The most consequential upgrade came for athletics — on 29 May 1971 the meeting was run on the first tartan track in Slovakia. The football facilities lagged behind for far longer: during 2010 World Cup qualifying, two Slovakia home matches had to be moved elsewhere because the ground did not meet requirements. Subsequent work eventually raised it to UEFA category 4.

Notable moments

The stadium's strongest European campaign belonged to ŠK Slovan Bratislava, who eliminated AS Roma in the 2011/12 Europa League play-off and then hosted Athletic Bilbao, Red Bull Salzburg and Paris Saint-Germain in the group stage. Slovakia first played here on 18 August 1999 against Israel (1–0), Martin Fabuš scoring the opening international goal at the ground.

Pasienky drew its greatest crowds when Inter Bratislava belonged to the Czechoslovak elite, and then again as Slovan's temporary European home.

Fan culture

The record league attendance of 22,789 — nearly double today's capacity — came on 16 June 1975 for the city derby between Inter and Slovan Bratislava (2–4). European nights twice filled the ground with 10,000 spectators: against Poland's Stal Mielec in the UEFA Cup on 26 November 1975, and against Everton in the Cup Winners' Cup on 24 October 1984. The largest international crowd, 10,074, watched Slovakia beat Costa Rica 3–0 on 5 June 2010.

Big matches

Athletics wrote as much of this stadium's history as football did. The PRAVDA — TELEVÍZIA — SLOVNAFT meeting, known as the "P-T-S", became one of the region's best-attended from 1973 onward and joined the IAAF Grand Prix circuit on 13 June 1986, drawing athletes from 39 countries. Sergey Bubka, Javier Sotomayor, Edwin Moses, Michael Johnson, Merlene Ottey, Jarmila Kratochvílová and Jan Železný all competed here, and the track witnessed two world records, both set by Bubka. The stadium has also hosted concerts by Metallica, Depeche Mode, Kiss and Carlos Santana.

Pasienky sits inside Bratislava next to the newer national stadium, so both grounds can easily be seen on one visit.

How to get there

• Public transport: the stadium is well within reach of Bratislava's city network, not an out-of-town site
• On foot: the National Football Stadium at Tehelné pole stands right beside it, a few minutes' walk away
• By car: parking nearby is limited, and public transport is the better option for larger events

Tickets and tours

What is on offer depends on who is playing here — the ground has served Inter, Artmedia Petržalka and Slovan in turn. Football tickets are sold by whichever club is currently at home, while athletics events are ticketed by the meeting organisers.

Visitor tips

• When to arrive: early for athletics, when the warm-up on the track is part of the experience
• What to notice: the surface laid in 1971 was the first tartan track in Slovakia
• What else to see: the National Football Stadium immediately next door
• Who it suits: at 11,591 seats the ground offers a closeness to the action that larger arenas cannot