Spartak Moscow, already playing in a new stadium (the Otkritie Arena) that has been built for 2018 FIFA World Cup, "is to also get a new training base in Tushine" at a cost of 1B rubles ($16M), according to Paul Nicholson of INSIDE WORLD FOOTBALL.
The 2,500 square meter new base "will have three fields and a four star hotel and will become the hub for all of Spartak's sports teams." At the 2018 World Cup "it will become the training base for two teams will be able to train there."
Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko said that "the base would be completed by April 2017, and that of the 64 bases are needed for the 2018 World Cup, so far 60 have been identified and are either ready or are being prepared." One area of contention for Russian World Cup organizers "has been the ban on alcohol sales at stadia that is currently in existence in Russia." FIFA insisted that for its competition beer (and particularly its sponsor's beer) "must be available in stadia."
Mutko said that the current plans "include the sale of beer in the stadiums but that a law change will be required" (INSIDE WORLD FOOTBALL, 10/15).
