The Kazan Arena is a stadium in Kazan, Russia, which hosts home matches of the local club Rubin Kazan. The stadium has one of the largest screens in Europe and has been home to quite a few other tournaments.
Kazan Arena Stadium Capacity
It boasts a generous capacity of 45,379 and uses high-grade turf standards, being a UEFA Category 4 stadium. The stadium is one of the largest in Russia and is also going to host a few of the 2018 FIFA World Cup matches.
History
The Kazan Arena was founded in 2013 and was meant to provide a new home stadium for Russian giants Rubin Kazan, and also to host matches for the 2018 World Cup.
The construction of the stadium started in 2010 and was completed in 2013, with the help of architect Populous at $450 million. The stadium lead designer Damon Lavelle states that the design is a unique response to the culture and place. The stadium represents a water-lily when viewed from above.
The first match held at the stadium was the 2013 Summer Universiade and also hosted its opening ceremony. The first international football match was held only after rework and hosted the Russia vs. Slovakia friendly on 26 May 2014.
Major Matches
The Kazan Arena has hosted quite a few major matches, including a few friendlies. It hosted four of three matches during the 2017 Confederations Cup and is to be one of the venues for the 2018 World Cup.
All the four matches saw some healthy attendance at the stadium, which kept increasing after each match. The first match pitted Portugal against Mexico in Group A and 34,372 spectators witnessed the 2-2 draw.
It also hosted the semifinals where Chile beat Portugal on penalties. The stadium was said to be more than a 90 percent full, attendance record at 40,855.
Controversies
Although the home club is already in a controversy involving non-payment of wages to their players, the stadium has been refurbished to host matches for the 2018 World Cup.
Russia is trying its best to enhance the view, but the clubs are mired in debt and are unable to get out of financial crises. This has seen a rise in the number of people against the FIFA bidding process.
Recent Matches
The recent matches held were club matches involving home club Rubin Kazan, and big names like Alex Song and M’vila play for them. It hosted three group games of the 2017 Confederations Cup and also hosted the semifinal.
The stadium will host four group games, one round of 16, and one quarter-final match of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
