City

Luzhniki and Spartak: The largest Moscow stadiums

10 October 2017

Dozens of sport events take place in Moscow every year. The most important of them are held at the city’s largest stadiums.  

Russia’s main stadium in Luzhniki

Built in 1956, the Big Sports Arena in Luzhniki is considered the main stadium of Moscow (and the whole country) and for good reason. Luzhniki’s reconstruction began in 2014 as part of preparations for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. It will host the World Cup’s opening ceremony and opening match, a round of final 16, a semi-final and the final match, and also three matches of the group stage. Now the stadium is already prepared to receive fans. And, in spite of all alterations, the arena has retained its historical look.

During renovation works, the walls of the building were cleaned and renovated. Translucent panels appeared on the pale sand-coloured façade. Special architectural lighting has been installed to illuminate the façade wall.

According to FIFA requirements, the renovated stadium can hold 81,000 spectators, which is 3,000 more than before. The number of entrances has grown as well, increasing from13 to of 16.

The new grandstands are now two-tier and set at a steeper angle, placing them much closer to the football field. The stadium will now have three hundred seats equipped for disabled citizens, around 2,000 seats for VIP spectators,2,500 seats for the press and a guest service zone that can hold 4,500 people. There are also100 corporate luxury boxes (skyboxes).

The grandstand colour – maroon with gold speckles – was chosen by Muscovites in the Active Citizen project. Two scoreboards on the south and north grandstands will be seen from any part of the stadium. In addition to standard information, the boards will display highlights of the matches and other video media.

To protect fans from the rain, the stadium roof has been extended by an 11-metre canopy. Light-emitting diodes have turned the rooftop into a full-scale media screen with an area of 40,000 square metres.

The stadium is also very accessible: the Sportivnaya and Vorobyovy Gory stations of the Sokolnicheskaya metro line are nearby as is the recently opened Luzhniki station of the Moscow Central Circle.

Spartak Stadium

This year Moscow joined the ranks of Russian cities receiving the Confederations Cup. Four matches were held at Spartak Stadium, which opened in 2014.

Holding 45,360 fans, Spartak is already fully prepared to host the FIFA World Cup matches. Since there is no running track around the field, the football field is clearly seen from any seat in the grandstands. Comfortable seats are provided for disabled spectators. Two large video screens help spectators watch the match. Spartak’s natural-grass pitch is considered to be one of the best in the country. Thanks to its heating system, the pitch easily endured last winter’s weather.  Visitors can also attend the modern museum of the Spartak popular football club, except on match days. A 25-metre statue of an Ancient Roman gladiator is located in front of the entrance to the stadium and is a popular gathering point for fans on match days.

During the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Spartak will host four matches of the group stage and a round of final16.

To get to the stadium, go to one of the two nearest metro stations – Spartak or Tushinskaya of the Tagansko-Krasnopresnenskaya Line. 

Dynamo Stadium

The home stadium of the Dynamo football club is currently under renovation. When completed, the arena is planned to become a training pitch for one of the teams participating in the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The stadium’s roof will cover both the football field and an adjacent ice rink, which can be transformed into a basketball court or a concert hall.

The Dynamo façade and roof will be painted with the club’s colours – white and blue, and will also incorporate diamond patterns as this is also part of the team’s emblem. Dynamo’s lucky charm is a bronze copy of a statue of football players by sculptor Iosif Chaikov, the original of which is currently at the Tretyakov Gallery.

Built in 1928, the Dynamo Stadium is the oldest football stadium in Moscow. The west grandstand will be preserved as a cultural heritage site.

The stadium will hold up to 27,000 spectators.

It will be easy to get to the renovated arena. The Dynamo metro station is nearby and the Petrovsky Park station of the Third Interchange Circuit is planned to open this year. An underpass will connect these stations.

CSKA

Another large stadium, CSKA, is located on Khodynka Field. In years past, an old stadium of the CSKA football club stood there. Built in 1961, the stadium was not adapted for the Russian Premier League football matches. It was demolished in 2000 and a new stadium was built on that site in 2016.

Now CSKA fully conforms to the FIFA and UEFA standards. Though the stadium is not on the list of stadiums hosting the FIFA World Cup, it will be used as a training ground for the participating teams.

The CSKA Stadium can hold 30,000 spectators. It has 127 skyboxes, each with a panoramic view of the field. The space under the grandstands is occupied by the CSKA children’s and teenagers’ sports school, the CSKA museum, restaurants, cafes, a gift shop and a medical centre.

The Polezhayevskaya metro station of the Tagansko-Krasnopresnenskaya Line and the Aeroport and Sokol stations of the Zamoskvoretskaya Line are not far from the stadium. Soon the stadium will get its own station, CSKA, which will be in the Third Interchange Circuit. The Zorge station of the Moscow Central Circle is also near the arena.


Images: Photo by the Mayor and Moscow Government Press Service

 

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