Russia's Luzhniki To Be Demolished Following 2013 World Athletics Championships

Russia’s biggest and most-famous arena, the Luzhniki in Moscow, will "likely be demolished" and be replaced by a new stadium after hosting the 2013 World Athletics Championships, according to RUSSIA TODAY. Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko said, ­“There are two options: The first one is how it happened with the Brazilian stadium of Maracana when the walls remained, but everything inside was cleared. This is expensive and not perfect because we’d have to go underground, but, actually, there’s nowhere to go there. So the concept, according to which the stadium will be demolished and a new modern arena built in its place, is about to be accepted.” According to Mutko, "drastic measures will need to be taken" to bring Luzhniki up to FIFA’s high standards, as the arena will be the main venue for the Russian-hosted 2018 FIFA World Cup. President Vladimir Putin and the Russian government will be "deeply involved" in the Luzhniki project so that the stadium will remain the “the country’s largest sporting enclave” (RT, 12/8).