The Gazprom Arena stadium in St. Petersburg, better known as the Zenit Arena, was officially opened in 2016. The main architect of the building is Japanese Kisho Kurokawa.

For a long time they could not decide on the name of the sports facility, at first they wanted to name it the Krestovsky stadium (after the name of the island where it is located), then the more popular Zenit Arena and the St. Petersburg stadium appeared. The final version - Gazprom Arena - was chosen only in December 2018 - 11 years after the start of construction. Over the years, residents of the Northern capital and tourists have got used to calling the stadium each in their own way, so today you can hear different versions of the name.

Even before the opening, Gazprom Arena became famous as the most expensive stadium in Russia. Indeed, a fabulous sum was spent on the construction of the facility. According to various sources, the cost of Zenit Arena is over $ 1 billion. Over the years of construction, the stadium has earned the notoriety of the main long-term construction of the country, the costs of which have only increased every year. However, in preparation for the 2018 World Cup, the lease was nevertheless completed.

Characteristics of the stadium "Gazprom Arena":

• Capacity - up to 68,000 people;
• The area of ​​all premises is 287.68 thousand square meters. meters;
• Height - 9 floors (75 meters), including pylons - 110 meters;
• The area of ​​the football field is 9 840 sq. meters.

Today Gazprom Arena is one of the best venues in the city, suitable for both sports and music events. The sliding roof of the stadium allows the facility to be used in any weather. The infrastructure of the facility makes it possible to organize events of any scale. At the service of tenants are premises of different areas, a catering service, a site and experienced staff.

The most significant events stadium "Gazprom Arena" in St. Petersburg:

• Football tournament "Confederations Cup - 2017",
• 2018 FIFA World Cup.

In 2019, the arena will host UEFA Europa League matches. Of the musical events, the most memorable was the concert of the Leningrad group at the Gazprom Arena in October 2018.

Schedule of matches of the stadium "Gazprom Arena"

All year round, the stadium hosts sport competitions at various levels. Of course, the most striking event was the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Today, Gazprom Arena is the base of FC Zenit - home matches of the most popular and beloved in St. Petersburg are held here football team... In winter, ice hockey competitions are held in the arena. The 2018/2019 season game calendar is available on the Gazprom Arena official website.

Zenit Arena scheme

How the stadium in St. Petersburg became one of the most expensive football arenas in the world

Devaluation of the ruble prevented Krestovsky from setting an absolute price record

Metropolitan Varsonofy of St. Petersburg and Ladoga (pictured in the center) on September 12, at the request of the city authorities (pictured on the left - Vice-Governor Igor Albin) and the contractor served a prayer at the Zenit Arena stadium for the successful completion of construction work

The journalists, who gathered on September 10 to cover the visit of the FIFA inspection to the football stadium under construction in St. Petersburg, at first did not want to be allowed into its territory. The security regime at the facility was sharply tightened: all entering cars were inspected with dogs, the construction site was fenced in with wire sections in addition to the permanent fence installed along the perimeter. There all the time something is crumbling and falling, the organizers explained to journalists. It is impossible to climb the stadium bowl, since the freight elevators have been dismantled, they added.

In the end, the photographers were allowed to take some pictures of the structure, and the reporters were allowed to listen to the inspectors' speeches.

The construction of the stadium will officially end in December. Construction deadlines are being met, says Vice Governor of St. Petersburg Igor Albin. But all the work will not be completed by this time. “This is a normal situation,” said Colin Smith, FIFA Competition Director. FIFA hopes that the arena will host two matches of the Confederations Cup in June and July 2017, and that by the 2018 World Cup they will have time to bring it to final readiness, followed from the speeches of Smith and the head of the Russia-2018 organizing committee Alexei Sorokin.

Back in early September, few believed that the stadium would be built on time. The facility was 85% ready, in addition, the contractor changed: the administration of St. Petersburg terminated the contract with the Engineering Corporation Transstroy-SPb (Inzhtransstroy) and the Transstroy Corporation, which had been building the arena since 2008. the city "Metrostroy" found many flaws at the facility, the company representative admitted: the worst thing is that mold has spread throughout the lower tier of the stadium, in some places about 1 meter from the floor; close the roof and dry the building. The stadium bowl was also flooded, so we had to drain it.

In general, the construction period of the arena is counted from 2004, when the construction site and the design of the stadium were selected (see inset on page 21). Then it was planned to build it in three years and 7.2 billion rubles. Why did it take four times as long and six times as much money? On the forums of football fans, comparisons are now often made: the football stadium in St. Petersburg took longer to build than the Colosseum in Rome. It took eight years to build the ancient arena, and the Russian construction didn’t take even ten years. The stadium in St. Petersburg remains the only truly problematic facility in the preparation program for the 2018 World Cup, says a person close to the Russia 2018 organizing committee.

Apparently, the main problem of this construction is that a lot was done for it on the basis of agreements, not documents. And every time something changed - the ruble exchange rate, the governor of St. Petersburg or plans to use the stadium - they had to negotiate again.

Oil and gas exchange

The project for the construction of a stadium on the Krestovsky Island of St. Petersburg originated from two ideas: in the early 2000s, the city authorities negotiated with Gazprom, which was headed by a resident of St. Petersburg Alexey Miller since 2001, about transferring some of its subsidiaries to the city, the other - developers wanted to build up Krestovsky Island with elite housing, recalls a former city administration official. The then governor of the northern capital, Valentina Matvienko, called “ Gazprom»A strategic partner. The company led large gasification projects in the city, financed social and charitable projects, and was also a minority shareholder. football club « Zenith", For which the governor was rooting. Matvienko supported the idea of ​​building a new arena for Zenit with 60,000 seats: the Petrovsky stadium with 22,000 seats, where the club played, did not meet FIFA requirements. The idea of ​​construction came up with top managers of the company “ Open investments", Which was part of" Interros ", recalls the interlocutor of" Vedomosti ". The company is ready to invest up to $ 150 million in a new stadium, and in return receive the territory of the stadium named after V. Kirov on Krestovsky Island, told Vedomosti in 2004 Sergei Belikov, who was then deputy general director of Open Investments. “In“ Zenith ”they looked at the site and decided that Krestovsky Island would be useful to them. And to make sure that this option was chosen, Gazprom decided to finance the project itself, recalls a former Smolny official. Matvienko signed a decree on the construction of the stadium at the expense of Gazprom. They decided to build according to an ambitious project by the architectural bureau of Kisho Kurokawa - the stadium model in his performance resembled a spaceship. In 2005, the gas monopoly gained control over Zenit and began re-registering several of its subsidiaries, including Gazprom Neft in St. Petersburg. A year later, Matvienko announced that the new stadium, tentatively titled Zenit Arena, would finance the city from tax revenues from Gazprom Neft to the city budget. In the same way, the city promised to finance the construction of a new office center for Gazprom, which decided to move its headquarters to St. Petersburg.

The first contractor, Sintez-SUI, undertook to build the facility for 6.6 billion rubles. But in 2008, the project was changed for the first time - a roll-out field and a transforming roof were added - and it turned out that the construction would cost 23 billion rubles. Due to the crisis, the city did not have enough money - the authorities refused to finance the Gazprom office complex and began to look for a new contractor for the stadium. The competition was won by Inzhtransstroy, which was part of the Transstroy corporation. Transstroy was a structure of the holding Basel»Oleg Deripaska. The winner pledged to build the stadium for 13 billion rubles. It was obvious that this money would not be enough, but the administration of St. Petersburg promised that in exchange for Basic Element they would receive other lucrative projects, an acquaintance of Basic Element's top managers and a former city administration official recalls. For example, Deripaska's Glavstroy-SPb promised to give a project to build a new multifunctional complex on the site of the Apraksin Dvor historical complex in the center of St. Petersburg, they recall. In 2008, Glavstroy won the tender for the reconstruction of the Apraksin yard, hoping to build 300,000 sq. M. On its territory. m of real estate. When "Inzhtransstroy" "entered" the stadium project, it became clear that everything was even worse, for reasonable money such a complex stadium could not be built, and the corporation began negotiations with the city administration on redesigning and increasing the budget, explains another former top manager of "Transstroy" ...

Champion ambitions

In 2010, Russia won the right to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup. It turned out that the stadium needed to be refined in accordance with FIFA requirements: to increase the capacity (up to 66,000 seats with the possibility of increasing to 80,000 seats), and to improve security. The project, finalized by the Mosproekt-4 institute, began, as Matvienko admitted at its presentation, to resemble a regular spacecraft instead of a spaceship - in particular, its roof became simpler: instead of a complex fan-shaped ordinary sliding one, the stadium was surrounded by a wall, etc. neither did the institute try to simplify the project, its cost exceeded 22 billion rubles. - and the administration accordingly increased the cost of the contract with "Inzhtransstroy". In 2011, the governor was replaced in St. Petersburg: Matvienko went to the Federation Council, Georgy Poltavchenko was appointed to her place. His team's relationship with Basic Element went wrong. For example, he insisted that the reconstruction of Apraksin Dvor be carried out while preserving the historical buildings - this made the project less interesting for Deripaska's structures. As a result, the city did not renew its investment contract with Glavstroy-SPb.

Some are more expensive

The list of the most expensive football stadiums in the world is topped by Wembley Stadium in London. The construction of the arena for 90,000 spectators on the site of the old stadium cost $ 1.25 billion. The complex is owned by the Football Association of England, which governs football in the country.
Brazilian Estadio Nacional Mane Garrincha in the capital with 71,000 seats cost $ 900 million in 2010. The arena hosted the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the Rio 2016 Olympic games.
Construction in London to Olympic Games 2012 Olympic stadium (also known as London stadium) cost the city budget $ 775 million.Since 2013, it has been rented by an English Premier League club for 99 years West ham United.
Arsenal's home arena, London's Emirates Stadium, built in 2009, is valued at $ 750 million.

In 2013, the city once again changed the project and the cost of construction, increasing it to 24 billion rubles. and terminated the contract with "Inzhtransstroy" due to a significant change in the project. However, the company won a new contract - a one-year contract, and then another, and as a result, the structures of "Transstroy" were building until 2016. "It was not easy to come to an agreement," recalls the former manager of "Transstroy". The company could not leave the project, which by that time had acquired state significance, without damaging the reputation of the beneficiary - Deripaska, he says. But relations with the city administration were getting worse. In 2014, "Basel" announced the sale of "Transstroy" to Deripaska's classmate, co-owner of the Chelyabinsk "Uralavtopritsepa" Yegor Andreev. Deripaska became disillusioned with the general contracting business, his acquaintances explained.

All the participants and supervisors of the construction have accumulated a lot of claims to each other. There were also problems with city officials, recalls a person close to the organizing committee "Russia-2018". It came to this: they could finish drawing something to the stadium project and go to demand money on the grounds that these changes are required by FIFA. I had to arrange a confrontation with representatives of FIFA, the staff of the organizing committee, in order to figure out who said what to whom, he continues. The city just wanted to build a luxury stadium with maximum and unique engineering equipment, Nikita Pavlov, a representative of Ingtransstroy-SPb, protects the officials.

How the football stadium in St. Petersburg was built and grew in price

Force majeure at a construction site

According to the St. Petersburg Construction Committee, in 2016 Inzhtransstroy began to drastically get out of the construction schedule. If in March the share of completed work was 67% of the plan, then in April it was only 17%, and in May - 20%. “It would be correct to talk not about a decrease in the pace of work, but about the suspension of acceptance by the customer of the work performed,” retorts Pavlov, “accordingly, the volume of funding and the rate of production of work fell. Difficulties began in mutual settlements with contractors and suppliers. " In fact, the general contractor was forced to work at his own expense, and after two months he exhausted the possibilities for self-financing the construction, he explains. Completed, but not accepted work during this period accumulated at 1.8 billion rubles, says Pavlov.

All delays from the schedule were due solely to the fact that the customer did not submit the design, estimate and working documentation in full and on time, as well as because of the customer's instructions to change certain space-planning and architectural solutions, Pavlov says.

All work with the availability of executive documentation was paid immediately. Another question is that the general contractor intended to receive payment without documentary confirmation of the work performed, which is not only impossible, but also illegal, argues Albin.

“Since May 2015, a number of problems have really accumulated at the construction site. They could only be solved together - by the customer and the contractor. This is the budget deficit of the stadium due to the devaluation of the ruble, the economic crisis and an unfinished, constantly changing project. Construction work was carried out in 2013 prices. In the spring of this year, the budget increased. But it was too late, and the money never reached the construction site. This is the overall effectiveness of the client's project management. This is a constantly changing project and the absence of a complete set of construction documents. This is the absence of a contract with the operating organization, which has long been to accept the facility. The customer preferred to solve these problems belatedly - and not with us, ”Pavlov enumerates.

In July 2016, the St. Petersburg Construction Committee terminated the general contract for the completion of the stadium with Inzhtransstroy-SPb and for the improvement of the adjacent territory with the Transstroy corporation. Then the FAS included both companies in the register of unscrupulous suppliers, which prohibits firms from participating in the implementation of government contracts for two years.

The committee through the court demanded from the first contractor to return the outstanding advance in the amount of 2.74 billion rubles, from the second - by 861 million rubles. As follows from the documents on the public procurement website, the city named violations of migration legislation, the work schedule and deviation from the requirements of project documentation identified by Rostechnadzor as the reasons for the termination of the contract, in particular, a change in the technology of heating the football field, technical solutions for filling the structure of the retractable field and the drainage system ... "Inzhtransstroy-SPb" in 2015–2016 Pavlov stresses, and the customer himself made changes to the design solutions for the purpose of operational improvements, including those recommended by FIFA and Zenit.

The Construction Committee also complains about the high percentage of defects in the work performed by "Inzhtransstroy". For example, according to officials, defect detection and elimination of defects on the retractable field are now underway, the seats for fans are being dismantled and new ones are being installed, defects are being eliminated in the metal structures of the bowl, reinforced concrete structures, in the waterproofing of the interior, etc. volumes, - Pavlov is surprised. - Such comments are removed in the working order in the process of planned production of work. By the time the object was handed over, all the imperfections had to be eliminated. There are no complaints about the constructive safety of the stadium. Rostechnadzor claims to the work of "Inzhtransstroy-SPb" as of August 2016 ". He does not consider Inzhtransstroy to be the fault of the mold, which the new contractor Metrostroy is now struggling with: "Until the circuit [of the building] is closed, constant drainage is necessary, which after our departure was not carried out properly."

Perhaps the administration of St. Petersburg simply decided to complete the construction of the stadium, where not the most difficult work remained, by the forces of a city-controlled organization, suggests a person familiar with the managers of Inzhtransstroy. The organizing committee did not demand to change the contractor, at this stage it is mega force majeure, says a person close to the organizing committee. Officially, the organizing committee did not comment on this.

In August, the ex-contractors filed lawsuits against the FAS (the third party is the St. Petersburg Construction Committee), and then against the Construction Committee. The companies hope to recover 1.8 billion rubles from Smolny. for work performed but not accepted, as well as to challenge the inclusion by the regulator in the register of unscrupulous suppliers. Third parties in the claim against Smolny are the bank VTB and the Capital Construction and Reconstruction Fund.

VTB, taking into account the Bank of Moscow, issued guarantees to Inzhtransstroy-SPb for contracts for the stadium for 3.8 billion rubles. until January 17, 2017

VTB President Andrei Kostin told Interfax in early September that VTB is ready to pay guarantees through a court that will decide who owes whom and how much. He has already discussed the return of guarantees with Poltavchenko and is going to discuss with Deripaska, added Kostin. "Inzhtransstroy" has nothing to do with "Basic Element", it is possible that the statement was made "out of old memory", the representative of "Basic Element" suggested. VTB's guarantees were issued prior to the sale of Transstroy to Andreev, said a person close to Inzhtransstroy. VTB does not comment on the guarantees for the stadium. In a telegram addressed to Poltavchenko, Deripaska wrote in June 2016 that Basel is not the owner of Inzhtransstroy-SPb, but out of respect for Poltavchenko, he is ready to assist in the successful completion of the construction.

Albin believes that the city owes nothing to Inzhtransstroy. Works for the amount of 1.8 billion rubles were submitted for payment, however, Inzhtransstroy presented supporting documents only for 328 million rubles, of which 78 million rubles. he has already been paid and the rest will be paid, Albin says. The remainder of the advance will have to be returned, even if in court. “There is a lot of guile in the actions of this organization,” Albin comments on the statements of Inzhtransstroy.

Required to complete the construction of the arena 2.6 billion rubles. the city administration took away from the targeted investment program of the construction committee for 2016 - 29 social objects were to be built on them, including a residential building, six schools, seven kindergartens. The redistribution will not affect the time frame for putting social facilities into operation: the funds will be taken into account in the investment program when adjusting the draft city budget for 2017 and the draft budget for 2018–2019. at the autumn session of the Legislative Assembly, Poltavchenko promised.

The stadium, which was named "Krestovsky" in April of this year by the decision of the Toponymic Commission of St. Petersburg, will be put into operation by "Zenith". The name may change, but the transfer memorandum has been signed, the stadium has been leased with the subsequent transition to a concession, Albin told Vedomosti. He did not name the financial terms of the contract. Poltavchenko has already written a letter to the club with a request to purchase the equipment needed to put the stadium into operation. The existing contracts did not include equipment for catering, medicine and the sports component, this will be the responsibility of the operating organization, Albin explained. The amount at which it will cost, as well as the terms of the lease and concession, according to the official, have not yet been determined. According to an official of the St. Petersburg administration, the operation of the stadium is estimated at about 600 million rubles. in year. Representatives of Gazprom and Zenit did not answer the questions of Vedomosti.

The total construction costs were estimated by the administration of St. Petersburg at 42 billion rubles.

Of course, a unique stadium was built in St. Petersburg, nowhere in the world is there a structure of this size with a sliding roof and a roll-out field, but its cost is still overstated, just like many other Russian stadiums, which are being built at the expense of the state for the 2018 World Cup , says Thomas Speck, CEO of consulting company Arena Com. It is estimated that a construction cost of 4,500–5,000 euros per site ensures high quality, Speck explains. With this calculation, the Zenit arena should have cost no more than 400 million euros. Speck recalls that although the St. Petersburg stadium is valued at less than 580 million euros at the current euro exchange rate, when it submitted an official bid to host Euro 2020 in 2014, Russia estimated the cost of the stadium on Krestovsky Island at 934 million euros. According to European experts, the real price of the stadium is at least 1 billion euros, he continues. In this case, the stadium could vie for the status of the most expensive football arena in the world with London's Wembley, built for $ 1.25 billion.

The problem is that another "white elephant" is being created for the state money, Speck is experiencing. In order to recoup the operating costs of the arena and earn money, it is necessary to carry out at least 100 events a year, he said. This is very difficult, especially considering that the stadium has several competitors in the neighborhood: covered “ Sibur arena "on the same Krestovsky island and the sports and concert complex" Petersburg ", the expert points out.

Bela Lyauv, Rinat Sagdiev, Alexandra Terentyeva contributed to the article

In 2010, Metallica was supposed to perform at the Zenit arena

According to Mikhail Zhvanetsky, it’s impossible to finish the repair, just stop it. Perhaps the most striking example of this is the Krestovsky construction site.

As the famous satirist writer Mikhail Zhvanetsky used to say, repairs cannot be completed - just stop. Perhaps the most striking example of this is the construction of a stadium on Krestovsky Island. We present the chronology of construction of the loudest football long-term construction in Russia - from the idea of ​​creation to the present day.

March 2005 "The Kirov Stadium in St. Petersburg will be demolished"
The first reports about the construction of a new arena on the site of the stadium. CM. Kirov, located on Krestovsky Island, appeared more than 10 years ago. Then it was about the stadium, the approximate cost of which would be $ 150 million, and the capacity - 50,000 spectators.

April 2005 "The new Zenit stadium will be built according to the Manchester model"
The concept of the future stadium was announced. It was assumed that the prototype for it will serve as a project for an arena in Manchester, created by the English company Arup. General Director of the State Unitary Enterprise "Stadium im. CM. Kirov " Demid Momot later criticized the idea of ​​an open stadium in Russian climatic conditions. And then a member of the Board of OJSC "Gazprom" Valery Golubev said that the stadium in Dortmund could become a model for the stadium. Also, the management of JSC "Gazprom" has specified the cost of construction. In six months, the figure has grown by almost 70% - to $ 250 million.

January 2006 The stadium is promised to be built by 2009

According to the head of the St. Petersburg Sports Committee Vyacheslav Chazov, he is 1,000,000% sure that the Gazprom Arena (that is how it was supposed to be called) will appear on the site of the stadium. Kirov by 2009. However, experts predict that these dates will be repeatedly shifted.

April 2006 When will construction start?
According to the vice-governor of St. Petersburg Alexander Vakhmistrov, construction of a new stadium for Zenit will begin at the end of 2006, immediately after the end of the dismantling of the Kirov stadium, which is scheduled to be completed in November. “Then we plan to sign an agreement on construction with the general contractor,” Vakhmistrov said.

July 2006 Projects for a new stadium in St. Petersburg presented
An exposition of the developed architectural solutions (pre-design proposals) of the stadium has opened in St. Petersburg. It featured projects developed by the winners of the first stage of the competition, including Kisho Kurokawa architect & associates (Japan).

The Japanese proposed a design for the stadium, shaped like a spaceship. The roof, 200x90 meters in size, is made of polymer material, rests on metal masts and is equipped with a special mechanism that blows hot air, which helps to melt the snow. The Japanese estimated the cost of their construction at just over $ 225 million. It was this project that was singled out among others by the former president of Zenit, Sergei Fursenko.

December 2006 The builder of the new stadium of FC Zenit became known
The construction of the stadium was the St. Petersburg company SINTEZ-SUI LLC, which offered to carry out all the work for 6 billion 664 million 308 thousand 170 rubles.

March 2007 "Zenith Stadium" will be built before the end of 2008 "
At a meeting with the participation of the Governor of St. Petersburg Valentina Matvienko it was announced that the construction of the arena on Krestovsky Island will end on December 30, 2008, and next season the team will be able to play home matches at the new stadium. At the same time, the customers of the project have not yet decided what kind of sports arena to make - retractable or non-retractable. “Based on the difficult weather conditions in St. Petersburg, experts believe that the retractable field can greatly increase the cost of the project, but not give the effect that we want. We need to weigh everything, ”said Matvienko.

April 2007 Matvienko: the field will be retractable at the new Zenit stadium
The Governor of St. Petersburg, Valentina Matvienko, announced that a retractable field will be located at the new Zenita football stadium on Krestovsky Island. Comments are superfluous.

September 2007 "Construction of the Zenit stadium is ahead of schedule"
The vice-governor of St. Petersburg, Alexander Vakhmistrov, told reporters that the construction of the new Zenita stadium on Krestovsky Island is ahead of schedule: “The construction deadline has not changed, it is roughly December 2008. We hope that Zenit will play the first matches of the 2009 season at the new stadium. "

March 2008 "Gazprom" will be asked for money for a new stadium for "Zenith"
RFU President Vitaly Mutko said that the construction of the arena may rise in price. To implement the project, Gazprom may be involved as an additional investor.

April 2008 "Commissioning of the new Zenit stadium is postponed for a year"
"In 2009, the stadium is unlikely to be put into operation," says the president of "Zenith" Alexander Dyukov... - In the future, maybe in 2010. At the moment, the project for the construction of the stadium on Krestovsky costs approximately 13-14 billion rubles, instead of the previously announced 6.67 billion. This is due to the increase in prices for the cost of work and materials, as well as the peculiarity of the soil. In addition, the price included work on dismantling the old Kirov stadium. "

July 2008 "The new Zenit stadium has risen in price by 3.5 times"
After the approval of the estimate, the new football arena in St. Petersburg has risen in price by 3.5 times to 23.7 billion rubles. It is reported that if the budget money is not enough, Gazprom, which controls FC Zenit, will join in financing. According to the official estimate prepared by Glavgosexpertiza, the football stadium on Krestovsky Island will cost 23.7 billion rubles. Now it is planned to increase the arena's capacity to 62,000 spectators.

December 2008 "Inzhtransstroy" will be engaged in the construction of the "Zenith" stadium
In November last year, the St. Petersburg Construction Committee terminated the state contract with the previous construction contractor, the Avant company, and in December signed a new contract with the Engineering Corporation Transstroy CJSC, owned by Oleg Deripaska... The cost of the contract amounted to 13 billion 22 million 282 thousand rubles, with an initial price of 18 billion 603 million 260 thousand. The starting price was reduced by 30%.

April 2009 Metallica will perform in St. Petersburg at the opening of a new stadium "
News agencies report that the legendary American band Metallica will perform in St. Petersburg in 2010 at the opening of a new stadium on Krestovsky Island. Metallica will present its latest album, Death Magnetic.

December 2009 Stadium does not meet FIFA standards
After checking the design of the stadium for compliance with FIFA requirements, it turned out that, according to a number of criteria, the stadium under construction does not meet FIFA standards. The main complaints were about the configuration of the stands (providing comfortable visibility, the location of hatches) and the layout of the under-stands, which were divided into small compartments by powerful walls. Halls and open spaces inside were practically absent.

February 2010 Zenita stadium will become larger and more expensive
Chairman of the Construction Committee of the St. Petersburg Administration Vyacheslav Semenenko announced the decision to expand the stadium. “Since the city received a proposal from the bid committee to host the semifinal match of the FIFA World Cup, we asked all the participants: either we continue construction with minor adjustments to the project, or we suspend work and change the project so that the new stadium meets all UEFA requirements. and FIFA. But this will require additional funding, "- said Semenenko. Thus, the new version of the stadium must accommodate at least 67,000 people.

April 2010 The construction time of the Zenit stadium is further extended
Due to adjustments in the budget of St. Petersburg, the construction project football stadium on Krestovsky Island lost 1.5 billion rubles. For this reason, the dates for the commissioning of the new arena of St. Petersburg “Zenith” have undergone changes again. Head of the Budgetary and Financial Committee of the Legislative Assembly Vladimir Barkanov said that because of this, there will be a rise in the cost of the project.

December 2010 Redesign of the new arena in St. Petersburg completed
Zenit President Alexander Dyukov announced that the redesign of the new arena in St. Petersburg has been completed. The stadium will now seat 68,000 spectators.

January 2011 Builders hurried to dismantle the roof
The dates for the construction of the new Zenita stadium have been revised again until November 2012. The conclusion of Glavgosexpertiza on redevelopment was received by construction organizations three months later than the expected date, so the builders, who rushed to start work, faced the need to dismantle the roof of the future arena. The amendments made by Glavgosexpertiza inevitably led to an increase in the cost of construction, which had already been revised five times by that time.

In addition, as the vice-governor of St. Petersburg Roman Filimonov said, the cost of the Zenit stadium has grown. In comparison with the previous estimate, construction work has risen in price by 8.4 billion rubles, and now the total cost of the stadium has grown to 33 billion rubles ($ 1.1 billion).

February 2011 The new Zenit stadium fell from 33 billion to 28.7 billion
The final estimate of the stadium was not 33 billion, which was announced at the end of January, but 28.7 billion. Contractor "Inzhtranstroy" gave a discount.

July 2011 Season-2013/14 Zenit wants to start in a new arena
General Director of "Zenith" Maxim Mitrofanov: “We calculate as follows: if the construction really ends in November 2012, then about six months will be spent on various commissioning works, on the installation of technological and catering equipment. We would like to start the 2013/14 season in a new arena. "

October 2011 "The constructed part of the stadium will have to be partially redone"
The design change was caused by the fact that the customer, the Construction Committee of the Government of St. Petersburg, two months after the transfer of the documentation to Mosproekt-4, decided to make a different roof. Mosproject-4 originally designed a sliding structure, which should only cover the stands. And the customer wanted the roof to cover the entire stadium together with the field. And these are completely different loads on beams, columns and foundation. It will take another 12 to 18 months to install the roof.

November 2011 New project deadline and new estimate
The deadline for the completion of the new stadium for Zenit on Krestovsky Island is 2013. This was announced by the Governor of St. Petersburg Georgy Poltavchenko during a joint meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak at the construction site of the future sports arena. There was also information that the price of the stadium could grow from 33 billion rubles to 40 billion rubles ($ 1.3 billion).

January 2013 Construction readiness of the Zenita stadium is 34.4%
By this time, the construction readiness of the facility is 34.4%. As of November 1, 2012, expenses were made from the St. Petersburg budget to finance the construction of a football stadium in the amount of RUB 14,417.1 million, with accounts receivable amounting to RUB 3,759.8 million.

February 2013 The Investigative Committee took over the stadium
Main Investigation Department of the Investigative Committee Russian Federation in St. Petersburg confirmed the initiation of a criminal case on the fact of fraud during the construction of a stadium for Zenit on Krestovsky Island. We are talking about the work of the first contractor for the project - Sintez-Sui LLC, which later changed its name to Avant LLC, which at the end of 2006 signed a contract with the Construction Committee of the Government of St. Petersburg. In the concluded subcontracting agreements, the cost of the work was overstated by more than 500 million rubles.

March 2013 The new Zenith stadium is promised to be commissioned no later than July 2016
Head of the Capital Construction Fund of St. Petersburg Roman Skladnev said that the installation of the roof of the stadium for Zenit on Krestovsky Island in St. Petersburg will begin in the second-third quarter of 2014, and all monolithic work will end in the fourth quarter of the same year. According to him, 21 months will pass from the beginning of the installation of the roof to the commissioning of the stadium.

June 2013 The new Zenith stadium is currently 35% built
After six years of work on Krestovsky Island, the new Zenita stadium, which will host the matches of Russia's 2018 FIFA World Cup, is about a third built. Vice-Governor of St. Petersburg Marat Oganesyan, meanwhile, believes that, despite the problems with the construction of the stadium on Krestovsky Island, the city is the leader in preparation among Russian cities that will host the 2018 World Cup.

April 2014 Zenit-Arena will be put into operation on June 15, 2016
Perhaps now the fans can breathe easy? Vice Governor of St. Petersburg Marat Hovhannisyan named the exact date of the opening of the Zenit-Arena stadium on Krestovsky Island. In April, the construction of the roof began at the stadium. Zenit President Alexander Dyukov later noted that such a forecast looks realistic.

Hovhannisyan ruled out the likelihood of an increase in costs for the construction of the stadium on Krestovsky Island. According to him, the final cost of the facility will be 34.9 billion rubles and "not a penny more."

October 2014 Construction in St. Petersburg will be completed by "Transstroy"
Transstroy, the general contractor of the new Zenita stadium on Krestovsky Island in St. Petersburg, won a RUB 9.129 billion tender to complete the construction of the arena. It remains to assemble a sliding roof, a roll-out field, engineering systems, decoration, installation and commissioning of the arena equipment.

December 2014 Alluvium for another 2.33 billion rubles
The State Procurement Committee of St. Petersburg has announced a tender for the creation of an artificial land plot in the area of ​​the territory of Krestovsky Island for the construction of a stadium for the 2018 World Cup. The volume of allocated funds will amount to almost 2.33 billion rubles, according to the procurement portal.

March 2015 The case of embezzlement of 145 million rubles in the arena was closed over a period of years
Vasileostrovskiy District Court terminated the criminal case against Sergey Gerliman, who was accused of illegally cashing in 145 million rubles, stolen during the construction of Zenit-Arena. The reason for the decision was the expiration of the statute of limitations.

April 2015 An arena construction worker sustained a gunshot wound
As a result of the conflict at the Zenit-Arena stadium under construction on Krestovsky Island in St. Petersburg, a construction worker received gunshot wounds to the head. The day before, a concrete mixer arrived at the construction site. After unloading, the driver began to wash the car, after which an employee approached him and made a remark. Presumably, after a verbal conflict, the driver took out a traumatic pistol and fired at the opponent's side three times, hitting twice in the head.

November 2015 The first match at Krestovsky will be held in September 2016
Construction Committee Chairman Mikhail Demidenko said that the level of readiness of the stadium on Krestovsky Island is now 79%. At the meeting, it was decided that the first match on the new site should take place in September 2016. However, a month later, the general contractor moved the announced dates until December 2016.

February 2016 The general contractor asks to increase the estimate to 35.3 billion rubles
The company "Inzhtransstroy-SPb", the general contractor for the construction of the "Zenit-Arena" stadium, has sent an official appeal to the Committee for the construction of St. Petersburg about the rise in the cost of construction of the facility by 435 million rubles. This information was confirmed by the press service of the committee. Thus, the total estimated cost of the arena may exceed 35.3 billion rubles.

July 2016 Investigators are looking for a video board of the Krestovsky stadium for 144 million rubles
The Investigative Committee and the Economic Police of St. Petersburg have begun large-scale searches, which concern 144.5 million rubles, which were initially required to carry out the installation of a video display complete with a lifting and lowering system at the Krestovsky stadium, as well as a control system for LEDs on this display. Meanwhile, the readiness of the stadium is estimated at 85%. In addition, there were reports of delayed wages to builders again.

July 2016 An attempted raider takeover in the arena?
Inzhtrasstroy-Spb, the general contractor for the construction of the stadium on Krestovsky Island in St. Petersburg, reported an attempted raider takeover that took place on July 13, accusing the city administration of attempting to disrupt the completion date of the arena. “There is a situation in which the customer, represented by the city administration, is doing everything to disrupt the deadline for the completion of the project. One of the key problems is caused by the lack of approved design solutions and documentation. We do not have the documents according to which we actually have to build, ”the company said to the Championship. Later, the city authorities did not rule out that the state contract with the contractor could be terminated.

The construction of the Zenit-Arena stadium is the longest Russian football... Long-term construction began in 2007 and has not been completed until now, the terms of delivery of the object are constantly being postponed, and the cost is growing day by day. The newspapers regularly publish encouraging statements from contractors and managers about the construction of the stadium.

“Zenith” has already been waiting for a new arena, but the players can not influence the speed of the erection in any way. So, let's fast forward ten years ago, when the idea of ​​building a new stadium just appeared.

2005 year

In March 2005, information appeared that the Kirov Arena would be demolished on Krestovsky Island, and the construction of the stadium would start from scratch in its place. “Zenith” was then still far from the UEFA Cup and the Hulk in the composition. The management announced that the new arena will cost one hundred and fifty million dollars and will have a capacity of 50,000 spectators.

The concept of the future stadium appeared in April. The base was Old Trafford. This idea was later criticized by Demit Momot, who considered the open stadium unsuitable for the Russian climate. Six months later, the management announced that the construction of the Zenit-Arena stadium was already worth $ 250 million.

2006 year

In January, the organizers of the construction promised to commission the Gazprom Arena (as they planned to call the stadium) by 2009. Even then, analysts predicted multiple postponements. In April, the vice-governor of St. Petersburg promised that construction of the Zenit-Arena stadium would start at the end of this year.

In the summer of 2006, the arena project was presented, which was developed by a Japanese company. The structure was supposed to receive a roof in the form of a spaceship with the possibility of heating. The project cost was $ 225 million. At the end of the year, a builder was identified. It was SINTEZ-SUI LLC, which promised to build the Zenit-Arena stadium for 6.7 billion rubles.

2007 year

In March, Valentina Matvienko announced that construction would be completed by the end and the team would spend the next season at the new stadium. A month later, the governor of St. Petersburg said that the Zenit-Arena stadium will receive a retractable field, which costs additional funds. In September, the vice-governor issued a statement indicating that construction was progressing ahead of schedule. He promised that in December 2008 the arena will be ready.

2008 year

In March, he announced that the construction of a new stadium could rise in price. For additional investments, Gazprom was attracted. A month later, Alexander Dyukov made it clear that in 2009 the new stadium of FC Zenit will not see. The due date has been shifted presumably to 2010. In addition, the construction cost has now reached 13-14 billion rubles.

In the middle of summer there was another rise in price of the Zenit-Arena stadium. Now the price was a whopping 23.7 billion rubles. The management has promised that the capacity will be 62,000 people. At the end of the year, it was announced that the construction will be carried out by the company "Inzhtransstroy", which has signed a contract for 13.2 billion rubles.

year 2009

In April, the media reported that in 2010 the famous Metallica will perform at the opening of the stadium. In December, the arena under construction was checked, and it was found that it did not meet FIFA requirements. The complaints were about the location of the stands and the premises under the stands.

2010 year

In February 2010, they decided to make the stadium more spacious (67,000), which affected its cost. Due to budget adjustments in April, the construction time will again increase. Because of this, the cost rises again. At the end of the year, the president of Zenit announced the completion of the redesign of the arena. The new capacity will be 68,000 people.

2011

In January, Glavgosexpertiza ordered the dismantling of the already built roof of the arena, which leads to additional costs and a postponement of completion dates. Now the total cost of the construction is already a cosmic 33 billion rubles. In October, the roof is demolished again, which the customer did not like. In November, the completion of the finished arena is scheduled for 2013. The cost has increased to 40 billion rubles.

year 2013

At the beginning of the year, it was announced that the stadium was 34.4% complete. In February, an investigative committee begins to investigate a fraud case involving the construction of the arena. The case involves the first contractor and the amount of 500 million rubles.

In March, the construction management promises to hand over the arena in the summer of 2016. In the summer, it turns out that the construction of the Zenit-Arena stadium, which will host the matches of the 2018 World Cup, is only 35% complete.

year 2014

In April, the exact date of commissioning of the object is set - June 15, 2016. The vice-governor ruled out an increase in cost and named a figure of 34.9 billion rubles.

2015 year

In March, the case of embezzlement of 145 million rubles was closed. The reason is the expiration of the statute of limitations. It was announced in November that Zenit will play its first match in the new arena in September 2016. A month later, the date was again moved to December.

2016 year

In February, the contractor asks to increase the amount of construction to 35.3 billion rubles. In the summer, 144.5 million rubles, which were intended for the installation of a video board, disappear. Information has emerged that workers are not receiving wages. On July 13, according to the general contractor, an attempted raider takeover took place. He did not rule out that in this way the city administration is trying to delay the delivery of the facility.