We were looking for high technology at the new Zenit stadium.

The first official mass testing of the new stadium in St. Petersburg took place yesterday. We attended the event, checked the navigation, the arena's pass system, and evaluated the technical solutions. Was all this worth 10 (!) Years of waiting?

Recall that, according to the city authorities, the total cost of "Krestovsky" was about $ 700 million(about 41.7 billion rubles), according to the media - more than 1 billion dollars!

We sorted it out on the spot.

It looks cool

A real flying saucer has landed in St. Petersburg. And nothing else. Externally, the stadium looks fantastic from any angle and at any time of the day. It looks great from the WHSD, it delights if you walk to it through the park on Krestovsky.

Fast throughput system

Automatic access control systems are installed at the entrance. You come up, attach your ticket to the barcode scanner and enter the stadium territory. No problem, fast and comfortable.

Is the Internet everywhere? No

The engineers promised to cover the entire area of ​​the stadium with a wireless Internet access network. The largest operator in the North-West, MegaFon, has built a communications complex and organized a telecommunications infrastructure for mobile communications at the stadium.

In fact, we tested the Internet on Yota and Beeline.

The situation is still sad even with Yota (it uses MegaFon equipment). The speed is unstable. The more people stood in the stands, the worse the signal was. And this was only a partial filling of the stadium (1/6 of the possible number of spectators). Will the "towers" withstand full stadium?

As for Beeline, it just does not work on the lower floors. There is no signal, as if we went down into the dungeon. So it goes.

Paying with Apple Pay? No

We were promised a simplified system of payment for services at the stadium.

In fact, there is no service at the stadium that can be paid at least by card. Arranged tables with drinks and questionable food resemble a school cafeteria, rather than a modern high-tech project with a normal level of catering.

Hopefully this is temporary. After all, they just opened it. They will play a couple of matches - and everything should theoretically work out. In the meantime, not a single cafe or restaurant has been seen on the territory of the stadium.

A video surveillance system that does not exist

According to the engineers, a system designed for safety control has several control systems at once.

They promise that she will automatically identify the ticket, appearance and track record of the fan. In the stadium under the stands, a total of more than 600 video cameras.

In fact, we did not see cameras inside the premises. Maybe you didn't have time to prepare the system and deploy it later? Let's see. As an option, they looked in the wrong place.

A placard that's too big

If everything can be solved with the past moments, then there is some kind of failure. The fans were promised the largest football scoreboard in Russia. There were two of them at the stadium.

The problem is that they have a non-standard ultra-wide format. All videos designed for the usual resolution occupied only the central part of the screen and were displayed from wide blue stripes around the edges.

Scaling the match info interface will partially solve this problem. But what will be done with videos that are not ready for such a resolution is not clear.

As for the overall impression of the stadium, as they say, it is better to see once than hear a hundred times. Above the photo, look, draw conclusions.

We hope that one of the most expensive sports facilities modern Russia will be able to bring to mind. There is a lot of work ahead, that's for sure. It is good that they completed the construction quickly, but this is just the beginning. I will not judge the rest, this is not my business.

P.S. Has anyone been there already? Share your impressions. By the way, the pictures were taken on the iPhone 6.

As can be seen over the past several decades, Russia has begun to actively pay attention to its sports industry. For example, recently, almost every year, new construction complexes "grow", thanks to which the younger generation of young people will be able not only to improve their health, but also have a great time off from work.

Zenit Arena in St. Petersburg is considered one of the largest construction projects in the field of sports. The construction of this stadium began in 2007 and until now the process has remained unfinished. For many years of "work" around the building, ongoing gossip, scandals and showdowns began to be conducted. Nevertheless, the public is concerned only with one question: will Zenit-Arena in 2017 be able to host the planned games.

Main information

Overall sports complex will appear on the site of the previously popular stadium. S.M. Ktrova. It was decided to appoint the Japanese architect Kisho Kurov as the author of the project. At one time, he presented to the investors of the future arena an original and unique complex, compiled taking into account all modern standards. Kisho's vision of what the new stadium should look like was immediately approved, although if you look at the financial side of the issue, Zenith Arena turned out to be the most expensive building of similar purpose in the world. Despite the sea of ​​criticism and an endless stream of condemnation, the result has already surpassed all the hopes of the Russian public. Most of the football fans are eagerly awaiting the completion of the construction of another sports ground.

Exact delivery time

Of course, the question of surrender finished complex in operation is considered the most important since the beginning of its construction. Now we can say with confidence that the matches of the 2017 Confederations Cup, the 2018 World Cup and the 2020 European Championship should be held at the Zenith Arena. Simply put, long awaited opening should be expected, if not at the end of this year, then guaranteed in the first half of 2017.

Touching upon the original plan, and the stages of the arena construction described in it, the general contractor highlights the following important points.

1. Construction started in 2007.

2. The then Governor of St. Petersburg Valentina Matvienko voiced her assumptions that the first matches of FC Zenit will take place in the marked arena in 2009. That's just because of the constant postponement of the stadium's commissioning date, the announced matches were never held at the agreed place.

3. This time, the completion of the facility is officially scheduled for 2017. I would like to hope that next year everything will end well and that the usual unforeseen circumstances will not arise.

Since the construction of the long-awaited sports complex started, a lot has happened important points which it is better to talk about in more detail.

1.Every year, the construction of the arena turned out to be more and more expensive. First of all, this meant that the project required additional funding and extra costs. But at the beginning of the "path" there was nothing of the kind in the plans and the budgeted budget.

2. The construction of the arena turned out to be more time-consuming than the construction of many historical and Orthodox monuments. For example, at one time, the world-famous Colosseum was built faster. According to history, the beginning of work on the appearance of this wonder of the world dates back to 72 AD during the reign of Emperor Vespasian. Already in 80, the finished object was consecrated by the new ruler Ancient Rome Titus. After a little mathematical calculations, it becomes clear that this architecturally significant memorial was built without any additional equipment for only 8 years. At the moment, the Zenith arena is officially being built for the 9th year.

3. By simple calculations, it was possible to find out that during the construction of the stadium in St. Petersburg it was possible without any effort to build a rhinestone 3 of the Eiffel Tower, or rather, 3.5. If anyone does not know, work on the construction of the main symbol of France took 2 years, 2 months and 5 days.

4. In 2016, it was necessary to approve a plan for the reallocation of funds allocated for completion of the stadium. It turns out that the missing part of the funding will be directed to the construction budget straight from the state treasury. Earlier, this money was planned to be allocated for the repair of institutions and the construction of new hospitals. At the beginning, this figure did not exceed 1.7 billion rubles.

5. Zenit Arena will be one of the few stadiums where a roll-out field will be used. Simply put, football turf on specially equipped rails must be delivered a few days before the match so that it does not lose its fresh appearance and quality. This is due to the fact that the northern capital of Russia differs from other cities in more severe climatic conditions that adversely affect the condition of the grass.

6. Zenith-arena will acquire the most powerful security system of our time. For example, the marked complex will be able not only to read information about a fan's ticket, but also to display a full dossier about it on the screen.

If we talk about the direct contractor of the entire construction, which is entrusted with responsibility for the prolonged work, the official duties are divided between the following companies:

Recently, there were rumors in the press that contractors might terminate their business agreements. In this case future Championship world-2018 will be thwarted. And this is not even taking into account the fact that every quarter of the construction there are some unforeseen circumstances. For example, the last sad moment was the problem with the drainage system and the roof. If we simply count the total number of comments made to the contractor during the entire construction period of the arena, their number will turn out to be simply incredibly large - almost 2 thousand.

It only remains to add that Zenit Arena is the largest, supernova, innovative and long-awaited sports complex in the world. As a result, answering the question when the opening of the Krestovsky stadium, we can say with confidence - soon.

How many copies were broken on the concrete walls of the stadium being built in St. Petersburg on Krestovsky Island, which is popularly nicknamed Zenit-Arena. This object is considered almost the main long-term construction of the country in its entire history. Fans have already lost counts, remembering general contractors who, one by one, disrupted work on multibillion-dollar government contracts.

During the construction period, the already considerable cost of building the stadium has increased significantly. Zenit-Arena is already considered one of the most expensive sports facilities on the planet, although a tidy sum has yet to be spent before the work is completed.

No mutual claims

So much attention has been drawn to the construction of the stadium that even the current prime minister has visited it. Dmitry Medvedev... However, this did not help speed up the construction. On the contrary, the opening date kept pushed back and forth until it reached a critical point. In 2014, the authorities of St. Petersburg and personally the Minister of Sports of Russia Vitaly Mutko promised to complete construction by 2016, and play the first match in May 2016.

But in January 2016, it became known about the suspension of work at the stadium for six months, which means another failure to meet the deadlines. According to Kommersant, the St. Petersburg Construction Committee, which ordered the construction of the “stadium in the western part of Krestovsky Island,” as Zenit Arena is called in the “official language”, suspended until June 30, 2016 the execution of the state contract with the contractor “ Ingtransstroy "worth 12.5 billion rubles. The contractor was supposed to complete the contract by December 15, 2015, but did not complete the work for 3.1 billion rubles.

According to the most recent data, the readiness of the facility is 82%. The estimated cost of construction is still estimated at about 34-35 billion rubles, but it can be clarified before the end of construction.

Longer than the Colosseum and the Pentagon

Zenit-Arena, which is considered one of the main long-term construction projects in modern Russia, began to be erected in 2007. Then Valentina Matvienko, who served as governor of St. Petersburg, announced that the first match at the new Zenit stadium will be played in 2009. However, as we can see, construction was delayed for ten years, so the stadium will be put into operation no earlier than 2017.

AiF.ru decided to check, of course, based on historical experience, what else can be built during this time. It turned out that many of the planet's great structures were erected in a much shorter period.

Which stadium do you think is the most famous on the planet? The answer is simple. Don't try to remember Barcelona's Nou Camp, or Milan's San Siro, or even London's Wembley. The most famous stadium on the planet is the Roman Colosseum, built 2000 years ago - in the first century AD. Do you know how long the construction of the grandiose arena, which has survived to this day, lasted? Just two years. And this is all in the first century, when stones were brought up on horse-drawn carts, and they were used to lift weights to a height. physical strength man and the simplest knowledge in mechanics.

By the way, about the most famous stadium of our time, the English Wembley, where the national team of the founders of football plays all its matches ... Construction of one of the most expensive and most technically equipped stadiums in the world, which many consider the best football arena on the planet, it only took four years. The new Wembley was built from 2003 to 2007. Moreover, the British did not face the threat of disrupting the Confederations Cup matches.

Zenit-Arena. Photo: RIA Novosti

But don't get hung up on stadiums. Let's remember other grandiose buildings that could already show off on Krestovsky Island - for example, the tallest building in the world. In the 30s of the last century, such a building was considered the legendary American skyscraper "Chrysler Building" - 77 floors, which rise 320 meters above the ground. At the beginning of the last century, the Americans built the building in 2 years - from 1928 to 1930.

Today, the tallest building on Earth is the Burj Khalifa, a skyscraper located in the city of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It rises to 828 meters and consists of a record 163 floors. They built this structure for only 6 years - from 2004 to 2010.

Perhaps the most famous building in the world is the American White House, the official residence of the President of the United States of America. Its dimensions are not impressive, but the building, which was originally erected as the main building of the country, could not but have a complex architecture. Construction of this building began in 1792 and continued until November 1, 1800, when its first owner and concurrently the second president of the United States, John Adams, entered it.

In 2010, Metallica was supposed to perform at the Zenit arena

According to Mikhail Zhvanetsky, the repairs cannot be completed - just stop. Perhaps the most striking example of this is the construction of Krestovsky.

As the famous satirist writer Mikhail Zhvanetsky used to say, repairs cannot be completed - just stop. Perhaps the most striking example of this is the construction of a stadium on Krestovsky Island. We present the chronology of the construction of the loudest football long-term construction in Russia - from the idea of ​​creation to the present day.

March 2005 "The Kirov Stadium in St. Petersburg will be demolished"
First reports of construction new arena on the site of the stadium. CM. Kirov, located on Krestovsky Island, appeared more than 10 years ago. Then it was about the stadium, the approximate cost of which would be $ 150 million, and the capacity - 50,000 spectators.

April 2005 "The new Zenit stadium will be built on the Manchester model"
The concept of the future stadium was announced. It was assumed that the prototype for it will serve as a project for an arena in Manchester, created by the English company Arup. General Director of the State Unitary Enterprise "Stadium im. CM. Kirov " Demid Momot later criticized the idea of ​​an open stadium in Russian climatic conditions. And then a member of the Board of OJSC "Gazprom" Valery Golubev said that the stadium in Dortmund could become a model for the stadium. Also, the management of JSC "Gazprom" has specified the cost of construction. In six months, the figure has grown by almost 70% - to $ 250 million.

January 2006 The stadium is promised to be built by 2009

According to the head of the St. Petersburg Sports Committee Vyacheslav Chazov, he is 1,000,000% sure that the Gazprom Arena (that is how it was supposed to be called) will appear on the site of the stadium. Kirov by 2009. However, experts predict that these dates will be repeatedly shifted.

April 2006 When will construction start?
According to the vice-governor of St. Petersburg Alexander Vakhmistrov, the construction of a new stadium for Zenit will begin at the end of 2006, immediately after the end of the dismantling of the Kirov stadium, which is scheduled to be completed in November. “At the same time, we plan to sign an agreement on construction with the general contractor,” Vakhmistrov said.

July 2006 Projects for a new stadium in St. Petersburg presented
An exposition of the developed architectural solutions (pre-design proposals) of the stadium has opened in St. Petersburg. It featured projects developed by the winners of the first stage of the competition, including Kisho Kurokawa architect & associates (Japan).

The Japanese proposed a design for the stadium, shaped like a spaceship. The roof, 200x90 meters in size, is made of polymer material, rests on metal masts and is equipped with a special mechanism that blows hot air, which helps to melt the snow. The Japanese estimated the cost of their construction at just over $ 225 million. It was this project that was singled out among others by the former president of Zenit Sergei Fursenko.

December 2006 The builder of the new stadium of FC Zenit became known
The stadium was built by the St. Petersburg company SINTEZ-SUI LLC, which offered to carry out all the work for 6 billion 664 million 308 thousand 170 rubles.

March 2007 "Zenith Stadium" will be built before the end of 2008 "
At a meeting with the participation of the Governor of St. Petersburg Valentina Matvienko it was announced that the construction of the arena on Krestovsky Island will end on December 30, 2008, and next season the team will be able to play home matches at the new stadium. At the same time, the customers of the project have not yet decided what kind of sports arena to make - retractable or non-retractable. “Based on the difficult weather conditions in St. Petersburg, experts believe that the retractable field can greatly increase the cost of the project, but not give the effect that we want. We need to weigh everything, ”said Matvienko.

April 2007 Matvienko: the field will be retractable at the new Zenit stadium
The Governor of St. Petersburg, Valentina Matvienko, announced that a retractable field will be at the new Zenita football stadium on Krestovsky Island. Comments are superfluous.

September 2007 "Construction of the Zenit stadium is ahead of schedule"
The vice-governor of St. Petersburg, Alexander Vakhmistrov, told reporters that the construction of the new Zenit stadium on Krestovsky Island is ahead of schedule: “The construction deadline has not changed, it is roughly December 2008. We hope that Zenit will play the first matches of the 2009 season at the new stadium. "

March 2008 "Gazprom" will be asked for money for a new stadium for "Zenith"
RFU President Vitaly Mutko said that the construction of the arena may rise in price. To implement the project, Gazprom may be involved as an additional investor.

April 2008 "Commissioning of the new Zenit stadium is postponed for a year"
"In 2009, the stadium is unlikely to be put into operation," says the president of "Zenith" Alexander Dyukov... - In the future, maybe in 2010. At the moment, the project for the construction of the stadium on Krestovsky costs approximately 13-14 billion rubles, instead of the previously announced 6.67 billion. This is due to the increase in prices for the cost of work and materials, as well as the peculiarity of the soil. In addition, the price included work on dismantling the old Kirov stadium. "

July 2008 "The new Zenit stadium has risen in price by 3.5 times"
After the approval of the estimate, the new football arena in St. Petersburg has risen in price by 3.5 times to 23.7 billion rubles. It is reported that if the budget money is not enough, Gazprom, which controls FC Zenit, will join the financing. According to the official estimate prepared by Glavgosexpertiza, the football stadium on Krestovsky Island will cost 23.7 billion rubles. Now it is planned to increase the arena's capacity to 62,000 spectators.

December 2008 "Inzhtransstroy" will be engaged in the construction of the "Zenith" stadium
In November last year, the St. Petersburg Construction Committee terminated the state contract with the previous construction contractor, the Avant company, and in December signed a new contract with the Engineering Corporation Transstroy CJSC, owned by Oleg Deripaska... The contract value amounted to 13 billion 22 million 282 thousand rubles, with an initial price of 18 billion 603 million 260 thousand. The starting price was reduced by 30%.

April 2009 Metallica will perform in St. Petersburg at the opening of a new stadium "
News agencies report that the legendary American band Metallica will perform in St. Petersburg in 2010 at the opening of a new stadium on Krestovsky Island. Metallica will present its latest album, Death Magnetic.

December 2009 Stadium does not meet FIFA standards
After checking the design of the stadium for compliance with FIFA requirements, it turned out that, according to a number of criteria, the stadium under construction does not meet FIFA standards. The main complaints were about the configuration of the stands (ensuring comfortable visibility, the location of hatches) and the layout of the rooms under the stands, which were divided by powerful walls into small compartments. Halls and open spaces inside were practically absent.

February 2010 Zenita stadium will become larger and more expensive
Chairman of the Construction Committee of the St. Petersburg Administration Vyacheslav Semenenko announced the decision to expand the stadium. “Since the city received a proposal from the bid committee to host the semifinal match of the FIFA World Cup, we asked all the participants: either we continue construction with minor adjustments to the project, or we suspend work and change the project so that the new stadium meets all UEFA requirements. and FIFA. But this will require additional funding, "- said Semenenko. Thus, the new version of the stadium must accommodate at least 67,000 people.

April 2010 The construction time of the Zenit stadium is further extended
Due to adjustments in the budget of St. Petersburg, the construction project football stadium on Krestovsky Island lost 1.5 billion rubles. For this reason, the dates for the commissioning of the new arena of St. Petersburg “Zenith” have undergone changes again. Head of the Budgetary and Financial Committee of the Legislative Assembly Vladimir Barkanov said that because of this, the cost of the project will also rise.

December 2010 Redesign of the new arena in St. Petersburg completed
Zenit President Alexander Dyukov announced that the redesign of the new arena in St. Petersburg has been completed. The stadium will now seat 68,000 spectators.

January 2011 Builders hurried to dismantle the roof
The timeline for the construction of the new Zenita stadium has been revised again until November 2012. The conclusion of Glavgosexpertiza on redevelopment was received by construction organizations three months later than the expected date, so the builders, who rushed to start work, faced the need to dismantle the roof of the future arena. The amendments made by Glavgosexpertiza inevitably led to an increase in the cost of construction, which had already been revised five times by that time.

In addition, as the vice-governor of St. Petersburg Roman Filimonov said, the cost of the Zenit stadium has grown. In comparison with the previous estimate, construction work has risen in price by 8.4 billion rubles, and now the total cost of the stadium has grown to 33 billion rubles ($ 1.1 billion).

February 2011 The new Zenit stadium fell from 33 billion to 28.7 billion
The final estimate of the stadium was not 33 billion, which was announced at the end of January, but 28.7 billion. Contractor "Inzhtranstroy" gave a discount.

July 2011 Season 2013/14 Zenit wants to start in a new arena
General Director of "Zenith" Maxim Mitrofanov: “We calculate as follows: if the construction really ends in November 2012, then about six months will be spent on various commissioning works, on the installation of technological and catering equipment. We would like to start the 2013/14 season in a new arena. "

October 2011 "The constructed part of the stadium will have to be partially redone"
The design change was caused by the fact that the customer, the Construction Committee of the Government of St. Petersburg, two months after the transfer of the documentation to Mosproekt-4, decided to make a different roof. Mosproject-4 originally designed a sliding structure, which should only cover the stands. And the customer wanted the roof to cover the entire stadium together with the field. And these are completely different loads on beams, columns and foundations. It will take another 12 to 18 months to install the roof.

November 2011 New project deadline and new estimate
The deadline for the completion of the new stadium for Zenit on Krestovsky Island is 2013. This was announced by the Governor of St. Petersburg Georgy Poltavchenko during a joint meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak at the construction site of the future sports arena... There was also information that the price of the stadium could grow from 33 billion rubles to 40 billion rubles ($ 1.3 billion).

January 2013 Construction readiness of the Zenita stadium is 34.4%
By this time, the construction readiness of the facility is 34.4%. As of November 1, 2012, expenditures were made from the St. Petersburg budget to finance the construction of a football stadium in the amount of RUB 14,417.1 million, with accounts receivable amounting to RUB 3,759.8 million.

February 2013 The Investigative Committee took over the stadium
Main Investigation Department of the Investigative Committee Russian Federation in St. Petersburg confirmed the initiation of a criminal case on the fact of fraud during the construction of a stadium for Zenit on Krestovsky Island. We are talking about the work of the first contractor for the project - Sintez-Sui LLC, which later changed its name to Avant LLC, which at the end of 2006 signed a contract with the Construction Committee of the Government of St. Petersburg. In the concluded subcontracting agreements, the cost of the work was overstated by more than 500 million rubles.

March 2013 The new Zenit stadium is promised to be commissioned no later than July 2016
Head of the Capital Construction Fund of St. Petersburg Roman Skladnev said that the installation of the roof of the stadium for Zenit on Krestovsky Island in St. Petersburg will begin in the second-third quarter of 2014, and all monolithic work will end in the fourth quarter of the same year. According to him, 21 months will pass from the beginning of the installation of the roof to the commissioning of the stadium.

June 2013 The new Zenita stadium is currently 35% built
After six years of work on Krestovsky Island, the new Zenita stadium, which will host the matches of Russia's 2018 FIFA World Cup, is about a third built. Vice-Governor of St. Petersburg Marat Oganesyan, meanwhile, believes that, despite the problems with the construction of the stadium on Krestovsky Island, the city is the leader in preparation among Russian cities that will host the 2018 World Cup.

April 2014 Zenit-Arena will be put into operation on June 15, 2016
Perhaps now the fans can breathe easy? Vice Governor of St. Petersburg Marat Hovhannisyan named the exact date of the opening of the Zenit-Arena stadium on Krestovsky Island. In April, the roof was erected at the stadium. Zenit President Alexander Dyukov later noted that such a forecast looks realistic.

Hovhannisyan ruled out the likelihood of an increase in costs for the construction of the stadium on Krestovsky Island. According to him, the final cost of the facility will be 34.9 billion rubles and "not a penny more."

October 2014 Construction in St. Petersburg will be completed by "Transstroy"
Transstroy, the general contractor for the new Zenita stadium on Krestovsky Island in St. Petersburg, won a RUB 9.129 billion tender to complete the construction of the arena. It remains to assemble a sliding roof, a roll-out field, engineering systems, finishing, installation and commissioning of the arena equipment.

December 2014 Alluvium for another 2.33 billion rubles
The State Procurement Committee of St. Petersburg has announced a tender for the creation of an artificial land plot in the area of ​​the territory of Krestovsky Island for the construction of a stadium for the 2018 World Cup. The amount of allocated funds will amount to almost 2.33 billion rubles, according to the procurement portal.

March 2015 The case of embezzlement of 145 million rubles in the arena was closed over a period of years
Vasileostrovskiy District Court terminated the criminal case against Sergey Gerliman, who was accused of illegally cashing in 145 million rubles, stolen from the construction of Zenit-Arena. The reason for the decision was the expiration of the statute of limitations.

April 2015 An arena construction worker sustained a gunshot wound
As a result of the conflict at the Zenit-Arena stadium under construction on Krestovsky Island in St. Petersburg, a construction worker received gunshot wounds to the head. The day before, a concrete mixer arrived at the construction site. After unloading, the driver began to wash the car, after which an employee approached him and made a remark. Presumably, after a verbal conflict, the driver took out a traumatic pistol and fired at the opponent's side three times, hitting twice in the head.

November 2015 The first match at Krestovsky will be held in September 2016
Construction Committee Chairman Mikhail Demidenko said that the level of readiness of the stadium on Krestovsky Island is now 79%. At the meeting, it was decided that the first match at the new site should take place in September 2016. However, a month later, the general contractor moved the announced dates until December 2016.

February 2016 The general contractor asks to increase the estimate to 35.3 billion rubles
The company "Inzhtransstroy-SPb", the general contractor for the construction of the "Zenit-Arena" stadium, sent an official appeal to the Committee for the construction of St. Petersburg about the rise in the cost of construction of the facility by 435 million rubles. This information was confirmed by the press service of the committee. Thus, the total estimated cost of the arena may exceed 35.3 billion rubles.

July 2016 Investigators are looking for a video board of the Krestovsky stadium for 144 million rubles
The Investigative Committee and the Economic Police of St. Petersburg have begun large-scale searches, which concern 144.5 million rubles, which were initially required to carry out the installation of a video display complete with a lifting and lowering system at the Krestovsky stadium, as well as a control system for LEDs on this display. Meanwhile, the readiness of the stadium is estimated at 85%. In addition, reports of delayed wages to builders have reappeared.

July 2016 An attempted raider takeover in the arena?
Inzhtrasstroy-Spb, the general contractor for the construction of the stadium on Krestovsky Island in St. Petersburg, reported an attempted raider takeover that took place on July 13, accusing the city administration of attempting to disrupt the completion date of the arena. “There is a situation in which the customer, represented by the city administration, is doing everything to disrupt the deadline for the completion of the project. One of the key problems is caused by the lack of approved design solutions and documentation. We do not have the documents according to which we actually have to build, ”the company said to Championship. Later, the city authorities did not rule out that the state contract with the contractor could be terminated.

The General Director of the company - the general construction contractor "Inzhtransstroy-SPb" spoke about the progress of work on the construction of the stadium, where the World Cup matches will be held in the summer of 2018, in an exclusive interview with the "Sport Day by Day" correspondent.

Test matches will be held in May 2016

There are 10 months left before the stadium is put into operation - it was previously reported that it should be ready by May 2016. Do you have time?
- Contractual obligations of Transstroy extend to the end of 2016. As instructed by the customer, we must complete the main construction and installation work in May. next year... After that, we will proceed with the commissioning of the systems. The object is complex, the engineering saturation of communications is very high, everything is unique. Therefore, we will test and adjust the systems until the end of the term.

It turns out that some were quick to announce that Zenit could play their first match at the new stadium in May 2016?
- According to the schedule, only test matches will be able to play in May next year, for example, between the teams of Transstroy and the team of the customer.

It is clear that the customer for the construction of the stadium is the city, but Zenit will play on it. At the same time, Maxim Mitrofanov, the general director of Zenit, said bluntly: “I don’t know what will and what will not be at the new stadium”. How is this possible?
- The club participates in making decisions, including those related to the choice of systems, with their testing. In "Zenith" are endorsed technical assignments the entire system. Especially when it comes to controlling fans' access to the stadium.

- Do representatives of Zenit visit the construction site? Maybe Andre Villas-Boas, who lives nearby, dropped in for a visit?
- Representatives of Zenit are constantly at the stadium and participate in all specialized meetings ...

- Will a biometric fan identification system be installed?
- Yes, we will have a face recognition system. The only question is in the algorithms of this system and the execution options. This system is one of the most complex, and today there is a large number of developments in this direction. We discussed a lot about the choice of the system. One of the latest requirements that came to us relatively recently from the Federal Security Service was that the systems must meet exactly their, the FSB, strict criteria. For example, it should be a domestic manufacturer.

The inside of the bowl will have a temperature of 20-22 degrees

Is it true that the roll-out field has not only been installed, but also passed the first testing tests for movement?
- Passed the first stage of testing the roll-out field drive system. That is, the field in an unloaded state, only metal structures, is already moving in the given parameters. With the participation of "Transstroy" and the Polytechnic University, a unique drive system has been developed, this is a completely domestic development. The first stage was successful, at the second stage we proceed to the installation of the structures of the "pie" of the field and the pressurization system. The field will combine an electric servo drive and an air cushion system.

- When is it worth expecting the same with regard to the other "cherry" of the stadium - the retractable roof?
- The sliding roof is the most complex system, it is mounted at a height. She is the crown of the installation of the entire stationary roof. It will be possible to talk about test trials only by October-November of this year.

- What is the temperature in the stadium bowl in winter with the roof closed?
- The minimum temperature of the entire stadium on frosty days is seven degrees Celsius. We must never go below this threshold. If the stadium is empty, then with the roof closed, we lower it to the economy mode - 7-10 degrees. If any events are planned, then the inside of the bowl will be 20-22 degrees.

During the World Cup in Brazil, we had to face colossal problems: Wi-Fi worked only in the press center, it was impossible to “catch” it in the stands. The same thing happens periodically with the networks of even large mobile operators. Do you have this question in mind?
- Initially, it is envisaged that the Wi-Fi network will completely cover the stadium. All communication and data processing systems are designed and built with redundant resources for ten years in advance.

- Has the stadium capacity changed?
- There are two modes. During matches under the auspices of FIFA, we receive up to 68 thousand spectators, and in concert mode, when the field leaves and the bowl becomes a parterre, the stadium can accommodate up to 80 thousand.

- How many parking spaces will there be parking? Will it be paid or free?
- We are still reconstructing old stadium, therefore, they were initially limited to the area of ​​the old object. Calculations have shown that the maximum parking capacity without violating the rules and regulations for evacuation is 3.5-4 thousand places. Obviously, compared to the capacity, this is a small amount. Therefore, in general, to get to the stadium, you will have to use public transport.

- In addition, is the construction of a pedestrian bridge envisaged?
- Yes, the city authorities have already officially announced this. The bridge will be built in the alignment of Yakhtennaya Street, as a result of which there will be two interchanges: one towards the Novokrestovskaya metro station, and the second towards the Staraya Derevnya and Chernaya Rechka. Separating foot traffic is a very smart solution.

- When will the stadium lighting start working? What modes will be?
- The installation of the stadium lighting has already begun; the laying of supports for the masts is underway. This is a separate government contract, which is executed by the contractor "EMS No. 5", not us. They are due to hand over the system in December. During matches, it will work at maximum in the dynamic light show mode. At other times it will be just background lighting. The color scheme has not yet been approved, but absolutely any options are possible. The lamps, by the way, are made in St. Petersburg.

- What is the situation with the fire extinguishing system?
- She's in the project. The robotic fire complex is also controlled by the operator, reacting primarily to the fire of engineering systems. Don't think we're going to put out the fans (smiles).

Additional FIFA wishes

There is still talk that Russia may lose the World Cup. Will you be offended if this happens?
- I would not even want to assume that. My opinion: sport is out of politics. The draw for the World Championship qualifying tournament will take place in St. Petersburg in July.

- Does the nervous atmosphere affect your construction site in any way?
- No. Our facility is nearing completion, and our task is to complete it on time.

FIFA now big problems, they have enough headaches due to the corruption scandal. Do representatives of this organization continue to come to Krestovsky Island for checks?
- Not so long ago I considered a request and a document on additional wishes that FIFA provided us.

- What wishes are we talking about?
- This mainly concerns the architecture of internal planning decisions, decisions related to design, with the placement of some services.

- What is the readiness of the stadium at the moment?
- There is complete confidence that we will deliver the facility on time. Despite the objective difficulties, we are steadily moving towards the goal. The customer's estimate has already exceeded the bar of 75 percent.

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Pedestrian bridge

On June 18, within the framework of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, an agreement of intent was signed for the implementation of an investment project to create a pedestrian bridge for the 2018 World Cup in St. Petersburg between St. Petersburg and Spicer Oppenheim Limited.

The result of the project will be the creation of a pedestrian bridge in the alignment of Yakhtennaya Street with the following technical parameters:

Total length - 672 m (span length - 409 m);

Length, taking into account the approaches to the structure from both sides - 941 m;

Carriageway width - 9 m;

The total width of the walking and cycling parts is 5.75 m.

The estimated cost of building a pedestrian bridge is 1.8 billion rubles.