FIFA has insisted that the £340M ($549M) reconstruction of Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium -- the venue for the 2018 World Cup Final -- is "ahead of schedule" following an inspection visit of the venue on Monday, according to Mark Ogden of the London TELEGRAPH. FIFA's inspection team has "spent the last week visiting stadia" in St. Petersburg, Sochi, Kazan and Moscow. Luzhniki, the venue for the 1980 Olympic Games and 2008 Champions
League final, is "at least eighteen months from completion following the
decision to entirely rebuild the inside of the stadium while retaining its
historic outer shell." Despite the ongoing construction work, however, Unger "insists that the
Luzhniki is on course to be ready to host the final of the 2017
Confederations Cup." Unger: "They seem to be ahead of schedule here. The venues are all
at a different state. One is a construction site, in St. Petersburg, while we have two stadiums that
are finished in Kazan and the new Spartak Stadium across the city here in
Moscow. ... There are is no direct comparison from one to the other, so our way of
measuring progress is not one against the other, but over time at the same
stadium" (TELEGRAPH, 10/20). In London, James Ducker reported work on the Luzhniki and the Otkritie is "just part of a huge overhaul of
infrastructure in Moscow." About 70 new metro stations are being built as the
public transport network is "redesigned and expanded and extensive
construction is underway on the city's road network, which is expected to
address the serious traffic problems." Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko said that the tournament "could end
up costing" $40B to fund (LONDON TIMES, 10/20). ESPN reported Unger stressed that he "wanted to see the progress being maintained on future visits." Unger: "It's our first visit to Russia, and we're happy with the results for the moment. But we would like to see positive changes in our every new visit here." The inspectors said that the Fisht Arena at Sochi, a Winter Olympics venue, "would need adaptation before it was ready to host World Cup football" (ESPN, 10/20).