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2018 FIFA WORLD CUP IN RUSSIA

Russia’s budget for construction of 2018 World Cup stadiums fixed — first deputy PM

The sum will remain as it was fix back in 2010 — 300 billion roubles ($6.4 billion), Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov said

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MOSCOW, November 13. /TASS/. Russia’s budget spending on the construction of stadiums for the FIFA World Cup Russia will host in 2018 will remain as it was fix back in 2010 — 300 billion roubles ($6.4 billion), Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov said on Thursday after visiting Moscow’s Otkritie-Arena, one of the 12 stadiums in 11 Russian cities selected to host the 2018 World Cup matches.

The chief venue of the global tournament will be another Moscow’s stadium — Luzhniki, which is currently under reconstruction. “After reconstruction, the stadium will preserve its historical outlook but will have a state-of-the-art arena. It is the most difficult but, apparently, the best option,” Shuvalov said.

Reconstruction works at the Luzhniki Arena were launched in the fall of 2013 and after the works are completed the stadium will boost the spectators capacity of 81,000 seats. This is the second grand reconstruction of the stadium, which was initially built in 1957. The first grand reconstruction of the stadium took place in the run up of the 1980 Summer Olympic Games in Moscow.

“As concerns other stadiums, the biggest problems are with the ones in Rostov and Kaliningrad,” Shuvalov noted. “(Russian Minister of Sport) Vitaly Mutko will soon visit Kaliningrad to make a final decision about the site for the future stadium.”

The construction of the Otkritie-Arena began in 2010. The 42,000-seat stadium occupies an area of 53,758 square meters (13.2 acres) and is almost 53 meters (174 feet) high. The official opening of the Otkritie-Arena in the northwest of the Russian capital was held on September 5, when Spartak FC played its inaugural home match against Serbian FC Crvena Zvezda.

The new stadium was constructed solely for Spartak FC and will be also one of the venues throughout Russia to host matches of the 2018 World Cup.

Russia won the bid to host the 2018 World Cup over three years ago in a tight race against the joint bid from England, Portugal and Spain and the joint bid on behalf of Belgium and the Netherlands.

Following an official ceremony held in September 2012 and attended by FIFA President Sepp Blatter, Russia eventually selected 11 out of the earlier proposed 13 cities, excluding Krasnodar and Yaroslavl. The final list of the 2018 World Cup host cities includes Moscow, St. Petersburg, Sochi, Kazan, Saransk, Kaliningrad, Volgograd, Rostov-on-Don, Nizhny Novgorod, Yekaterinburg and Samara.

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Igor Shuvalov 2018 World Cup in Russia

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