St. Petersburg's construction committee said that Russian Premier League side Zenit’s long-delayed football stadium will cost about $1.1B, "slightly less than previous estimates," according to R-SPORT. The latest number "is a speck of good news for the much-maligned project, which has been plagued by a spate of expensive construction mishaps and legal imbroglios since it broke ground" in '06. Earlier this month, building estimates skyrocketed to around $1.3B, "nearly three times the initial projected cost" (R-SPORT, 3/29). The MOSCOW TIMES reported the arena under construction on Krestovsky Island since '06 "was to have been completed" by '08 at a price of 6.9B rubles, but the city added requirements, "including a mechanical roof, retractable playing field and additional seating." The projected cost rose to 23.7B. A new contractor, Transstroi, came on board in '08 and offered to do the work for 13B rubles. But in '11 city authorities announced that construction would cost 33B rubles. St. Petersburg Deputy Governor Marat Oganesyan said last week that "construction would be completed by 2016." In January, the Audit Chamber said that "the facility was 34 percent complete" (MOSCOW TIMES, 4/1).
