Gazprom Arena is the most expensive Russian football stadium, located in St. Petersburg. This football arena has other names:
- St. Petersburg "Zenit Arena";
- St. Petersburg "Zenith" or "Zenit" stadium;
- Krestovsky Stadium;
- "Saint Petersburg".
The general designer of the Gazprom Arena stadium was an architect from Japan, Kisho Kurokawa. The area of the Zenit Arena stadium, taking into account all the premises, is almost 290 thousand m², and the roll-out football field- about 10 thousand m². However, according to the original project, the area of the St. Petersburg arena should be smaller.
The Zenit Arena stadium is a landmark of St. Petersburg, which is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful buildings on Krestovsky Island. It has a retractable dome, the diameter of which is about 290 meters. The dome of the St. Petersburg football arena rests on masts. There are 8 such masts in total. The evening view of the stadium attracts with its unusual design - from a distance the arena resembles a flying saucer, from which multi-colored light emanates.
How the name for the Zenit Arena stadium was chosen
From the moment the first stone was laid during construction until 2018, the Gazprom Arena stadium had many different names. The key points in choosing a name for the arena are as follows:
- FSZCHKO or “Football stadium in the western part of Krestovsky Island” - this was the name of the stadium while the construction of the Gazprom Arena was underway. Initially, it was decided that the official name would be assigned only after the object was completely finished.
- Due to the fact that the St. Petersburg football club Zenit and the Gazprom company expressed a desire to participate in the construction of the future Krestovsky stadium, the arena was planned to be named one of the following options: Gazprom Arena, Zenit or Zenit Arena .
- By the end of winter 2010, it became known that the Government of St. Petersburg would make a final decision regarding the name of the future stadium only after the arena was put into operation.
- “St. Petersburg” is exactly the name FIFA proposed in the fall of 2015 for the St. Petersburg stadium under construction. However, at the end of April of the same year, the Toponymic Commission of St. Petersburg chose a different name for the football arena - “Krestovsky”. A year later, it was confirmed that the most expensive football arena in Russia will be named after the island on which it is located - the stadium was named “Krestovsky”.
- However, after the approval of the official name for Gazprom Arena, during some events taking place in this arena, the stadium was called differently. For example, it is known that during the Confederations Cup (in 2017) and the World Cup (in 2018), the new stadium on Krestovsky Island was called “St. Petersburg”.
- At the beginning of December 2018, the most expensive Russian stadium changed its old official name “Krestovsky” to a new one - “Gazprom Arena”.
Cost of the Zenit Arena stadium
The St. Petersburg stadium on Krestovsky Island is one of the longest-under-construction and most expensive Russian football arenas.
At first it was decided that the Gazprom company would allocate funds for construction, but then information appeared that the money for the construction of the Zenit Arena would be taken from the city budget. It was also known that the cost of construction increased from the original 6.7 billion rubles to 14 billion.
Between the end of summer 2008 and December 2016, 42 billion rubles have already been spent on the construction of a new St. Petersburg football arena. The cost of the facility under construction was affected by amendments to the project to comply with FIFA requirements.
At the beginning of 2017, the cost of construction of the stadium increased to almost 44 billion rubles. However, according to some reports, it is known that the Gazprom Arena stadium costs more than 44 billion rubles. The media mentioned such amounts as 48 billion and 50 billion rubles.
How many years did it take to build the Zenit Arena stadium?
The deadline for the stadium's completion has been pushed back many times. Construction of the arena began in 2007 and was supposed to end in 2009, but this did not happen. The stadium was put into operation only at the end of 2016, that is, 9 years after the start of construction. And the opening of the St. Petersburg stadium took place at the end of April 2017.
Chronology of the construction of the Zenit Arena stadium
The construction of the Krestovsky Stadium can be divided into stages by year:
2006- this year the old stadium named after S. M. Kirov was demolished for the future construction of the Zenit Arena.
2007- after they have been completed excavation After the partial dismantling of the hill, the first stone was laid.
2008- the Krestovsky project was ready, but in November the contractor and the St. Petersburg construction committee signed an agreement to terminate the contract due to the fact that the project had become more expensive. But thanks to the fact that the necessary funds were later allocated by decision of the budget and finance committee of the Legislative Assembly, construction of the arena was resumed at the end of that year.
year 2009- at the end of this year it was revealed that the Zenit Arena stadium under construction does not meet FIFA standards - the complaints were mostly regarding the layout of the premises under the stands, as well as the configuration of the stands. Because of this, construction on the third level of the arena was stopped until the identified inconsistencies in the project were corrected.
2010- construction on the third level of the stadium was resumed thanks to a new general designer, who made the necessary changes to the project to comply with FIFA standards. After amendments were made to the project, the area of Zenit Arena increased from 170 thousand to 260 thousand m². There has also been an increase in the number spectator seats. However, this entailed an increase in the cost of the object.
2015- by August of this year, the construction of the Krestovsky stadium was approximately 76% completed and the dismantling of the fixed roof was completed. The installation of the thermal system was completed in September. Work was carried out on the installation of chairs, as well as finishing appearance arena tribune.
2016- in March, the readiness of St. Petersburg Zenit was 84%. The facade work was almost completed, and the arena was put into operation in December.
Capacity of the Gazprom Arena stadium
The exact number of spectators that Krestovsky can accommodate is unknown. However, during construction, the developer’s website contained information that the future Zenit Arena stadium would have 80 thousand seats for spectators during various concerts and theatrical events. And also 68 thousand spectator seats at football matches.
In addition, it is known that in 2018, during the Russia-Finland hockey match (Channel One Cup), the stadium was visited by 81 thousand people.
Gazprom Arena can also be visited by people with disabilities, for whom there are special places. Thus, out of 560 places for the disabled, 266 places are intended for those who cannot walk and use a wheelchair.
Location of St. Petersburg Zenit stadium
The Zenit Arena stadium is located on Krestovsky Island, where the stadium named after S. M. Kirov was previously located. The stadium address is easy to remember: Football Alley, building 1 (St. Petersburg, Russia).
During the construction phase, the new home stadium of St. Petersburg Zenit repeatedly became the object of everyone's attention. This is primarily due to constant postponements of delivery deadlines and regular budget increases. Nevertheless, in 2017, the long-awaited project was completed, and the northern capital of Russia received a modern stadium on Krestovsky Island.
general information
Official site: arena.fc-zenit.ru
Capacity: 56,196 seats (at sporting events)
Address: St. Petersburg, Football Alley, 1
GPS coordinates for the navigator: 59.972878, 30.221394
Year of construction: 2017
Field: 105×68 m.
Scoreboard: electronic.
Roof: sliding.
Coating: natural.
The inner thicket of the stadium is traditionally divided into two tiers and four sectors: A, B, C, D. Tickets for Zenit matches can be purchased different ways: through the official website, in the club store, client office, using terminals. The address of the client office is Dobrolyubova Ave., 16, lit. A, building 2. Addresses of stores and other places where you can purchase tickets to the Zenit Arena must be checked on the official website of the stadium or on the website of FC Zenit.
One of the most simple ways buy a ticket - use the official Internet portal. It contains all the necessary information for clients, as well as a convenient graphical interface that allows you to quickly select and book a suitable place.
Despite the protracted construction process, confusion with names and other unpleasant nuances, the St. Petersburg Stadium (Zenit Arena) has every chance of becoming central sports facility northern capital of the Russian Federation. UEFA assigned the new stadium on Krestovsky Island the 4th maximum category, thereby placing the St. Petersburg arena on a par with the best football facilities.
St. Petersburg Arena is not only a venue for football matches. The structure, like almost all modern stadiums, is multifunctional. At cultural and entertainment events, the capacity of the bowl can be increased to 80,000 seats. This makes the stadium an excellent venue for large-scale festivals and performances by world stars.
How to get to the stadium. Infrastructure
Metro
About two kilometers from the main sports arena of St. Petersburg is the Krestovsky Island metro station. Fans can also use two more stations - “Staraya Derevnya” and “Chkalovskaya”, which are located within walking distance from the stadium. It is worth noting that the travel time from the Krestovsky Island station to the arena will be about 25 minutes.
Tram
No. 48, No. 19. The tram schedule and the availability of additional routes need to be clarified.
Buses and shuttles
Buses No. 10, No. 14, No. 25, No. 25A, K-131. Special shuttle buses run two hours before and after the match. Their schedules and final stops may change, so such information should be checked on the official website before visiting the stadium.
You can also walk to the stadium via the Yachtny Bridge, which opened at the end of May 2017. It is assumed that the bridge will be pedestrian. However, it can also be used to transport fans on buses.
By car
There is also an option to get to the St. Petersburg stadium by your own personal transport. The car can be parked in external parking (2,732 spaces) or internal parking (240 spaces). Both parking areas are located on the bay side. The address where you can purchase a car pass, and all the conditions can be found at official page stadium.
Zenit Arena is the main, but not the only sports facility on Krestovsky Island. Not far from the football stadium is the Sibur Arena multifunctional complex, which can accommodate 7,120 fans. During boxing matches and MMA competitions, the spectator capacity is up to 8,000 seats.
In addition to the Sibur Arena, the St. Petersburg stadium on Krestovsky Island is accompanied by the Locosphinx cycling track and Athletics arena. Among all these sports facilities there is also the Park Krestovsky Hotel, which was built in 2009.
Lengthy construction
The construction of a new stadium in St. Petersburg was regularly accompanied by scandals that were actively discussed in society. The construction of the arena was seriously delayed, and its budget was constantly increasing. This caused negative sentiments and mistrust both among St. Petersburg fans and among people quite far from football. Journalists calculated that more than 40 billion rubles were spent on construction. Naturally, this colossal amount was compared with the costs of building the best stadiums in the world. For example, Juventus Stadium was built in just over three years, and the costs amounted to just over 100 million euros.
Zenit Arena was built on the site of the former stadium. Kirov, which operated at Krestovsky since 1950. It is noteworthy that the previous stadium also had a complex and long story construction. Work began in 1932, and the stadium was put into operation. Kirov was introduced only after 18 years. True, in that case the reason for the protracted construction was the Second World War.
In 2006, work began on dismantling the stadium. Kirov, after which the construction of the future St. Petersburg arena began. At that time, it was assumed that the stadium would be named Gazprom Arena. Quite interesting metamorphoses took place with the name of the complex. Even representatives of the press at different stages called the stadium either “Gazprom Arena”, or “Zenit Arena”, or “St. Petersburg”. This confusion was partly due to the ambiguous situation surrounding the construction of the complex. Initially, the work was to be financed by Gazprom. The presence of the name of the corporation in the name of the stadium in this case was quite logical. However, later money for construction was allocated from the city budget. The issue with the name of the arena remains relevant. For the duration of the matches of the 2017 Confederation Cup and the 2018 FIFA World Cup, it was decided to use the name “St. Petersburg Arena”.
In 2007, the old stadium on Krestovsky was completely demolished. After ground work, the first stone of a new modern sports complex was laid. The architectural design competition was won by the agency “Kisho Kurokawa architects & associates” of the famous Kise Kurosawa, who passed away in the same 2007.
The project deadline was repeatedly pushed back, and the cost of the stadium regularly increased. Nevertheless, the complex construction on Krestovsky Island was completed in 2017. The 2018 World Cup undoubtedly became one of the main catalysts for the logical conclusion of the famous and controversial construction in St. Petersburg. First official match took place in the new arena on April 22, 2017.
Sport events
The debut unofficial game at the Zenit Arena stadium took place at the end of 2016. Then the teams of Metrostroy and the builders of St. Petersburg took to the field. The stadium on Krestovsky hosted the official match in April 2017. The match took place as part of the 24th round of the Russian Football Championship. St. Petersburg Zenit beat Ural with a score of 2-0.
Already at the first game, obvious problems with the lawn appeared, which were added to the multiple excess of vibration standards. Work was urgently carried out to re-lay the lawn, which was completed at the end of May. Nevertheless, St. Petersburg Zenit was forced to return to Petrovsky and finish out the 2016-2017 Premier League season at the old stadium.
In 2018, our country will host the most significant international tournament football - World Cup. The upcoming World Cup will be hosted by 11 cities in our country, and the matches will be played in 12 brand new stadiums that will be built for this truly great event! Some stadiums for the 2018 FIFA World Cup have already been built, and the construction of the rest is planned to be completed in the near future.
Russia, as always, approached this event on a grand scale! We have already surprised foreigners with the stunning Winter Olympics Sochi 2014, and now we don’t want to lose face before the world football festival. Crazy amounts of money were allocated for the construction of unique structures, some sport complexes were built with private investment. By the way, just the other day the championship mascot was chosen, and it became .
Opening ceremony of the 2018 World Champion and final the match will take place at the Luzhniki stadium in Moscow. Now let's look at photographs of the stadiums, find out what they are called and how many spectators they can accommodate, of which there will be many.
Which stadiums will host the 2018 World Cup. Photo.
Luzhniki. The Moscow stadium seats 81 thousand people
Zenit Arena. Saint Petersburg. Accommodates 70,000 people
"Victory". Volgograd. The stadium is designed for 45 thousand spectators
"Central". Ekaterinburg. Capacity 35,000
"Kazan Arena". Kazan. Holds 45,000
Read also: Jokes about House 2. Humor in pictures from the madhouse
"Kaliningrad". Kaliningrad. Stadium for 35 thousand fans
"Opening Arena". Moscow. Designed for 45 thousand.
Volga Arena. Nizhny Novgorod. Holds 45,000
On July 26, 2016, it became known that the general contractor for the construction of the Zenit Arena stadium on Krestovsky Island in St. Petersburg announced a complete stop of work. The only question that torments football fans is whether the stadium will be completed in time for the Confederations Cup, which will be held in the summer of 2017. NTV explains why the Zenit Arena is taking so long to build and how its cost has increased by 30 billion rubles in 10 years.
Read below
What is Zenit Arena?
Zenit Arena is a stadium that has been under construction in St. Petersburg since 2007. The arena will be located on the site of the stadium. S. M. Kirov. The author of the project was the Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa. It must be said that the sports facility is already one of the most expensive in the world and the most scandalous long-term construction project in Russia.
It is expected that it will host the 2018 FIFA World Cup and the 2020 European Football Championship.
During the construction process, the sports arena was called “a football stadium in the western part of Krestovsky Island.” The stadium, which has not been put into operation, has already been used by Zenit, Zenit Arena and Gazprom Arena. It was assumed that the St. Petersburg football club Zenit and its main sponsor (the Gazprom company) would finance its construction, but now the construction of the arena is being carried out entirely at the expense of the city budget.
It is currently unknown who will own the stadium after construction is completed and the 2018 FIFA World Cup is held. It was previously reported that the arena should go on balance football club"Zenith".
On April 26, 2016, the stadium received the name “Krestovsky” based on its geographical location. 30.3% of St. Petersburg residents were in favor of this name.
When should construction be completed?
The stadium was founded in 2007. Then the governor of St. Petersburg, Valentina Matvienko, stated that the Zenit football club should play its first match at the new stadium in 2009.
However, the sports facility was not put into operation, and its completion date was repeatedly postponed. In addition, the cost of the arena increased every year.
On this moment City authorities and experts say that the stadium will be put into operation at the end of 2016 and the beginning of 2017. It must be said that in next year This arena will be one of the four that will host the Confederations Cup.
It is interesting that the construction of the Zenit Arena lasts longer than the construction of many famous historical monuments in the world. For example, in the time it took to build the stadium, one Colosseum could have been built. It began to be built in 72 AD. e. under Emperor Vespasian, and in 80 AD. e. The amphitheater was consecrated by Emperor Titus.
During the time spent at the Zenit Arena, 3.5 Eiffel Towers could have been built. Construction work then lasted for two years, two months and five days (from January 28, 1887 to March 31, 1889) and was carried out by 300 workers.
How much does it cost to build a stadium?
Even at the planning stage for the construction of a new stadium in St. Petersburg, the amount was set at 6.7 billion rubles (about $250 million). However, already in April 2008, the cost of its construction increased sharply to 14 billion rubles, and by the end of the same year the price tag was almost 24 billion (about 900 million dollars).
In 2011, Kommersant reported that as a result of changes in the project due to the requirements of FIFA and UEFA, including changing the stadium's capacity from 62 thousand to 69 thousand fans (about 7 thousand due to the installation of temporary stands) and the development of a new dome design for warming it up, the cost of construction could rise to 40 billion rubles.
In October 2012, the authorities of St. Petersburg announced and submitted for approval to the Glavgosexpertiza the amount of 43.8 billion rubles. At that time it was about $1.4 billion. At that time, this sports facility could have become the most expensive in the world.
It should be noted that as a result of the revision of the estimate, the price tag decreased slightly. In June 2016, the authorities of St. Petersburg limited the budget to 39.2 billion rubles.
Interestingly, in the list of the most expensive football buildings in the world, Zenit Arena currently occupies an honorable fourth place. By the end of construction, its cost will be about 620 million dollars.
The first is Wembley Stadium (England, London), the reconstruction of which cost 1.25 billion dollars. The second place is occupied by the stadium in the city of Brasilia (Brazil). It was built for the 2014 World Cup at a cost of $900 million. Third place rightfully belongs to the home stadium of the Arsenal football club. About $750 million was spent on its construction.
What else is this stadium famous for?
Despite the fact that the construction of this sports facility costs the city quite a lot, this stadium will be one of the most modern in the world.
For example, Zenit Arena will have a special roll-out field. The football pitch will be able to travel outside the arena on special rails so that it can be ventilated. This is due to the fact that weather conditions in St. Petersburg are not favorable for grass growth in winter, and the city is the northernmost of the Premier League. Using this technology, it will be possible to maintain the quality of the field surface at a high level.
The roof of the Zenit Arena will be retractable to cover the field during bad weather and the cold season.
In addition, the sports arena will have one of the best security systems in the world. It will be able not only to recognize fan tickets, but also to display all information about the fan online on the monitor screen. This may help representatives law enforcement in case of conflict or other emergency situations.
Zenit Arena Stadium: what is the famous sports unfinished construction?
Over the ten years during which the future Zenit stadium has been in the spotlight, this grandiose structure has migrated from the category of architectural works of art to the list of the most scandalous long-term construction projects of our time.
Today, when a new chapter in the history of the construction of the stadium opens, when the general contractor is organizing a real information war with the official authorities of St. Petersburg, we remember how it all began and what it ultimately led to. To do this, we will answer five main questions about the stadium being built on Krestovsky Island, which is popularly called the Zenit Arena.
When will construction be completed?
In 2007, when the decision was finally made to begin construction of a stadium on Krestovsky Island, Governor of St. Petersburg Valentina Matvienko announced the end of 2009 as the date for commissioning of the structure.
Since then, the estimated completion date has been postponed many times for all sorts of reasons. First, the 2008 crisis struck, which led to higher construction prices, problems for the developer and a change of general contractor. Then there were endless checks and lawsuits in connection with the waste of funds. After this there was a new crisis, as a result of which the cost of construction jumped even higher. And here we are again observing the procedure for changing the contractor.
Today, the final date for completion of construction is the end of 2016 - beginning of 2017. This date, in any case, is the deadline, because in the summer of 2017 the stadium in St. Petersburg will become one of four that will host the traditional tournament preceding the World Cup scheduled for 2018 - the Confederations Cup.
How much does construction cost?
Initially, it was planned to spend about 6.7 billion rubles on the construction of a new stadium in St. Petersburg. At that time it was about 268 million dollars.
Already in April 2008, the cost of construction initially jumped to 13-14 billion rubles, and by the end of 2008 it amounted to about 24 billion rubles. At that time, at current exchange rates, this amounted to almost $900 million.
Four years later, in October 2012, someone announced a figure of 43.8 billion rubles, which at the current exchange rate was more than 1.4 billion dollars. At this moment they started talking about how the stadium in St. Petersburg would be the most expensive sports facility on the planet.
True, since then the price tag in rubles has fallen slightly. In June 2016, the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg limited the arena construction budget to 39.2 billion rubles. At the same time, the dollar exchange rate against the ruble doubled. Therefore, the final figure in foreign currency does not yet look so shocking - “only” $620 million at the current exchange rate. However, given that most of the funds were spent at a different rate, in reality the amount in dollars will look more impressive.
What is the value of the Zenit stadium in the world?
Considering the dollar exchange rate that jumped in 2014, the St. Petersburg stadium is unlikely to become the most expensive football facility in the world, but it will also not go far from the first line.
The championship was given to the legendary Wembley, which does not belong to any club. It is where the England national team plays their home matches and where the English Cup final is played. At one time, its reconstruction, more like the construction new arena, cost the British $1.25 billion.
Next comes the Brazilian stadium in the capital, Brasilia, which was built for the 2014 World Cup and cost the government $900 million. It is followed by another London giant - the home stadium of the Arsenal football club, which cost $750 million to build.
And so far only in fourth place among football stadiums there is an arena on Krestovsky Island. As we have already approximately calculated, the cost of its construction will be about 620 million dollars, if calculated at the current exchange rate.
Who pays for the construction?
When information about the construction of a stadium on Krestovsky Island first appeared, it was planned that Gazprom would pay for its construction. Subsequently, the arena was to be transferred to the balance of the Zenit football club, which also belongs to the gas giant.
However, after some time, information appeared that the construction of the stadium would be paid for from the city budget. The construction budget immediately doubled - to 13-14 billion rubles, and later reached almost 40 billion.
It is also unknown now which organization will own the stadium after construction is completed and the 2018 FIFA World Cup ends. There were rumors that Zenit might even refuse to take responsibility for the arena, since the cost of maintaining it exceeds the income it can generate for the football club.
Why does building a stadium cost so much?
The construction of the Zenit Arena is so expensive for St. Petersburg because this arena will be one of the most technically equipped on the planet.
A standard example is a roll-out field. The stadium lawn will be able to travel outside the arena on rails so that it can be ventilated. This is necessary to create and maintain a high-quality grass surface, which is so necessary for playing football at a high level.
In addition, Zenit Arena will have a unique fire safety system. And the point here is not even how the stadium will fight fires in the premises under the stands with virtually no outside help. The most interesting thing is a robot firefighter that will be able to extinguish fires right in the stands. It will be able to automatically detect the source of a fire, be it a chair set on fire by fans or a lit firecracker. Using a directed jet of water, the robot will be able to extinguish the fire, preventing the threat.
The stadium will also be equipped with one of the best security systems on the planet, which will recognize fans, their tickets, and also display on the monitor in real time all the information about the fan that law enforcement agencies may need.
The fact that the roof of the stadium on Krestovsky Island, which, by the way, is created from the latest generation of light-transmitting materials, will move and move apart to prevent bad weather from spoiling the match, is probably not worth talking about.
