The "first match to be played at St. Petersburg's World Cup stadium, Krestovsky, will be between Russian Premier League club Zenit St. Petersburg and Ekaterinburg side FC Ural in April," according to RT. The match between the two will be part of the 24th round of Russian Premier League '16-17 matches. Krestovsky Stadium, also called Zenit Arena, will host the opening game of the FIFA 2017 Confederations Cup and is one of the four grounds used to hold matches for next summer's tournament, alongside Otkrytie Arena in Moscow, Kazan Arena and Fisht Olympic Stadium in Sochi. The stadium "has attracted attention for its budget, having been amended three times, with construction costs currently standing" at 41B rubles ($676M). The stadium will be "handed over to Zenit at the end of this month" and the club's Premier League matches will serve as a "dry run" for the games at the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup, which will be held in Russia from June 17-July 2 (RT, 12/23).
'NO DOUBT': TASS reported FIFA has "no doubt" that the new stadium in St. Petersburg will meet all the requirements for hosting the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup and the 2018 World Cup. FIFA's press service said, "FIFA remains confident that the St. Petersburg stadium will be commissioned to meet all requirements for hosting the Confederations Cup and the World Cup. The test matches are due to be held in 2017 ahead of the beginning of the Confederations Cup to evaluate the readiness of the stadium’s infrastructure and operational planning." The stadium in St. Petersburg "will be able to accommodate about 68,000 spectators" (TASS, 12/26).
