The Ekaterinburg Arena, officially Central Stadium, is a football stadium in the city of Yekaterinburg in Russia. It is the home ground of Russian Premier League football club FC Ural Yekaterinburg. The capacity of the stadium is just over 35,000, and might be reduced to 25,000 after the 2023 Summer Universiade. It is one of 12 venues in 11 host cities for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. The stadium is the easternmost among the 2018 World Cup venues.
History
Central Stadium was built in 1957. Earlier on this territory of the city also was a sports facilities: from 1900 - the Velodrome, from 1928 - Regional Stadium, and from 1936 - the stadium "Metallurg of the East". The Stadium has hosted thousands of sports and entertainment events. In the first years after its opening, the stadium has become one of the world most important arenas of speed skating. In 1959 it held the World Allround Speed Skating Championships for Women, as well as the 1958, 1962, 1964, and 1966 championships of the USSR, and in the 1964-73 period many matches between strongest national speed skating teams of the world. Approximately during the time when SKA-Sverdlovsk was one of the best club teams in the world. The stadium hosts 1962, 1966, 1974 and 1978 Spartakiad of the Peoples of the USSR and other Russian and international competitions. In 2004 the Stadium became a public company - JSC "Central Stadium". From September 2006 to 2011, it completed a first large-scale stadium reconstruction. In 2015–17 completed another large-scale reconstruction.
Reconstruction
The capacity of the arena after the reconstruction was planned to be 35,000 spectators. The stadium will provide three types of seats, including special places for people with disabilities and sectors for the fans. In the east and west stands 30% of seats will be placed under a canopy. Security systems, surveillance, telecommunications, video feed and audio experience enable high levels of service and safety to the stadium. The kernel of the stadium will bring together a football field with natural turf size 105x68 m and an athletic complex, consisting of eight racetracks, areas for long jump, triple jump and shot put. Grand Sports Arena will conform to international standards of FIFA and UEFA, the Russian Athletics Federation, as well as international agencies, cultural events and concerts. Under the stands will be places for sports facilities, accommodation for athletes, judges, medical teams and complexes catering. Near the sports center area will be parking and flat sporting facilities: a football field with artificial turf, and tennis courts. As the stadium was chosen as one of the venues of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, temporary stands extending outside the original perimeter of the stadium were erected so as to comply with the FIFA requirement of seatings for 35,000 spectators. In addition, it was planned to equip 8 booths for sports commentators on radio and television, and there will be a press center to provide room for journalists who cover the course of sporting events. The arena has artificially heated turf and artificial irrigation. In the stadium, it is planned to build a fitness center and Valeological center, which will be an organized system of fast-food outlets to serve the audience, and there will also be a restaurant with 200-300 seats. It will develop the modern system of access to the stadium, providing security and evacuation systems that meet international requirements. Additionally, a hotel will be built. Near the stadium will be a parking lot with 3200 spaces. In November 2010, the construction of reinforced concrete structures of two additional grandstands - the south and north - was finalized. Roofing work is finalized and closed the thermal path to the east and west stands. Work on the landscaping included lawns decorated, organized and paved parking for special mobile TV stations and specialized in the sports complex and complete reconstruction of the stadium's outer fence, which has retained its historic appearance. Preparatory work for the installation of spectator seating was also conducted. Stable funding to finish the stadium was provided in the summer of 2011. In October 2015 began another full reconstruction of the stadium. For the World Cup the stadium had a capacity of 35,696 spectators, 12,000 of which are temporary seating. After the World Cup, these 12,000 seats might be removed, resulting in a capacity of around 23,000. But as of late 2019, the temporary stands still haven't been demolished yet. The temporary stands attracted international attention because of its "dangerous" appearance, extending out from the outer facade.
2018 FIFA World Cup
Services
The following services are available to fans visiting the stadium:
Navigation and information support from volunteers.
Information.
Storage room.
Audio descriptive commentary for fans who are blind or visually impaired.
Seating options include non-standard seats for plus-size spectators. The stadium stands include special observation area for people with disabilities, which offers space for wheelchairs and accompanying persons.
Conditions for spectators with disabilities
The stadium has a specially designed sector for people with disabilities. The seats in the sector are covered by the canopy and separated from other seats by handrails and glass. All seats are adapted for wheelchair users: they stand at a distance of one and a half meter from one another.
Security
Security of fans, athletes and staff is ensured by a ticket/pass entry system and a set of counter-terrorism measures. The arena is equipped with CROC systems and systems for engineering system and structural health monitoring. They provide a 24-hour dispatch service with real-time data about the facility.
