It took nine years and almost 44 billion rubles to build Zenit-Arena. Now this football stadium is called Gazprom Arena and is the most expensive in Russia.
Gazprom Arena is the most expensive Russian football stadium located in St. Petersburg. This football arena has other names as well:
- SPB "Zenit-Arena";
- St. Petersburg "Zenith" or the stadium "Zenith";
- stadium "Krestovsky";
- "St. 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 square meters, and the roll-out football field is about 10 thousand square meters. However, according to the original design, the area of the "St. Petersburg" arena should be smaller.
Zenit-Arena stadium is a landmark of St. Petersburg, which is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful buildings on Krestovsky Island. It has a sliding dome with a diameter of 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 afar, the arena resembles a flying saucer, from which multi-colored light emanates.
How the name was chosen for the Zenit Arena stadium
From the moment the foundation stone was laid during construction until 2018, the Gazprom Arena has 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 at the time the construction of the "Gazprom Arena" was underway. Initially, it was decided that an official name would be given only after the facility was fully completed.
- Due to the fact that the St. Petersburg football club "Zenith" and the company "Gazprom" expressed a desire to participate in the construction of the future stadium "Krestovsky", 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 will make a final decision on the name of the future stadium only after the arena is put into operation.
- "Saint Petersburg" - this is the name FIFA proposed for the St. Petersburg stadium under construction in the fall of 2015. 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 at the time of the Confederations Cup (in 2017) and the World Cup (in 2018), the new stadium on Krestovsky Island was called St. Petersburg.
- In early December 2018, the most expensive Russian stadium changed its old official name Krestovsky to a new one - Gazprom Arena.
The cost of the Zenit-Arena stadium
The St. Petersburg stadium on Krestovsky Island is one of the most long-term and expensive Russian football arenas.
At first it was decided that the funds for the construction would be allocated by Gazprom, but then it was reported 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.
In the period from the end of summer 2008 to December 2016, 42 billion rubles have already been spent on the construction of a new football arena in St. Petersburg. The cost of the facility under construction was influenced by the introduction of changes to the project to comply with FIFA requirements.
At the beginning of 2017, the cost of building 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 named such amounts as 48 billion and 50 billion rubles.
How many years has the Zenit-Arena stadium been under construction?
The stadium delivery dates have been postponed many times. Construction of the arena began in 2007 and was supposed to be completed in 2009, but this did not happen. The stadium was commissioned only at the end of 2016, that is, 9 years after the start of construction. And the opening of the stadium "St. Petersburg" took place at the end of April 2017.
Chronology of the construction of the stadium "Zenit-Arena"
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 the earthworks were completed for 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 became more expensive. But due to the fact that the necessary funds were later allocated by the decision of the budgetary and financial committee of the Legislative Assembly, the construction of the arena was resumed at the end of the same year.
2009 - at the end of this year it was revealed that the Zenit-Arena stadium under construction did not meet FIFA standards - the complaints were mostly about the layout of the under-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 was resumed on the third level of the stadium thanks to a new general designer who made the necessary changes to the design to comply with FIFA standards. After the amendments were made to the project, the Zenit-Arena area increased from 170 thousand to 260 thousand square meters. The number of seats has also increased. However, this entailed an increase in the value of the object.
2015 - by August of this year, the construction of the Krestovsky stadium was completed by about 76% and the dismantling of the fixed roof was completed. The installation of the heating system was completed in September. Work was underway to install the seats, as well as to decorate the appearance of the arena stands.
2016 - in March, Zenit St. Petersburg's readiness was 84%. Facade work was almost completed, and in December the arena was put into operation.
Gazprom Arena stadium capacity
The exact number of spectators that Krestovsky can accommodate is unknown. However, during construction on the developer's website there was information that the future Zenit-Arena stadium will have 80 thousand seats for spectators during various concerts and theatrical events. And also 68 thousand spectators at football matches.
In addition, it is known that in 2018, during the hockey match Russia - Finland (Channel One Cup), the stadium was visited by 81 thousand people.
The Gazprom-Arena can also be visited by people with disabilities, for whom special places are reserved. So, out of 560 places for disabled people, 266 places are intended for those who cannot walk and move in a wheelchair.
Location of the St. Petersburg stadium "Zenith"
The stadium "Zenit-Arena" is located on Krestovsky Island, where the stadium named after S. M. Kirov was located earlier. The stadium's address is easy to remember: Football Alley, Building 1 (St. Petersburg, Russia).
