Menu
Facilities

Krestovsky Stadium Opens Two Months Before Confederations Cup; Concerns Remain

St. Petersburg's 69,000-seat Krestovsky Stadium "opened two months before the Confederations Cup, but concerns remain over the venue's readiness," according to Samindra Kunti of INSIDE WORLD FOOTBALL. On Saturday, Russian Premier League side Zenit St. Petersburg "welcomed" Ural Yekaterinburg to its new, purpose-built World Cup stadium. The stadium was "only partly full," with the top tier "closed to the public." The completion and opening of the stadium had been a "long time in the making after a decade of scandals over bloated construction bills and missed deadlines." Building work began in '07, but the arena was criticized for a "budget overrun" of 41B rubles. The stadium will "welcome the opening match and final of the Confederations Cup." Next year, the venue will host a World Cup semifinal (INSIDE WORLD FOOTBALL, 4/24). The AFP reported fears are growing over the "state of the pitch" at St. Petersburg's new stadium "after it cut up badly during the first match played on it." TV pictures of Saturday's match "showed uprooted pieces of turf and bald spots." Zenit Manager Mircea Lucescu, who "expressed his concerns ahead of the match," said that the state of the pitch had been "not very good" and affected his team's play. However, 2018 World Cup Organizing Committee CEO Alexei Sorokin said that the pitch "would be in adequate condition for the Confederations Cup kick-off." Sorokin: "The experts said the pitch here needs some time to firm up. The grass is too young so far, but in every new game here, its condition will become better and better" (AFP, 4/23).

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: May 15, 2024

The W's big night; here come the Valkyries and a major step forward in Jacksonville

NASCAR’s Brian Herbst, NFL Schedule Release, Caitlin Clark Effect

On this week’s pod, SBJ’s Austin Karp chats with our Big Get, NASCAR SVP/Media and Productions Brian Herbst. The pair talk ahead of All-Star Weekend about how the sanctioning body’s media landscape has shaped up. The Poynter Institute’s Tom Jones drops in to share who’s up and who’s down in sports media. Also on the show, David Cushnan of our sister outlet Leaders in Sport talks about how things are going across the pond. Later in the show, SBJ media writer Mollie Cahillane shares the latest from the network upfronts.

SBJ I Factor: Molly Mazzolini

SBJ I Factor features an interview with Molly Mazzolini. Elevate's Senior Operating Advisor – Design + Strategic Alliances chats with SBJ’s Ross Nethery about the power of taking chances. Mazzolini is a member of the SBJ Game Changers Class of 2016. She shares stories of her career including co-founding sports design consultancy Infinite Scale career journey and how a chance encounter while working at a stationery store launched her career in the sports industry. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

Shareable URL copied to clipboard!

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Global/Issues/2017/04/25/Facilities/St-Petersburg-Stadium.aspx

Sorry, something went wrong with the copy but here is the link for you.

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Global/Issues/2017/04/25/Facilities/St-Petersburg-Stadium.aspx

CLOSE