Russian World Cup stadium bill put at over US$ 6 billion

Russia will invest RUR 162 billion (US$ 5.1 billion) to RUR 199 billion (US$ 6.2 billion) modernising the 15 stadiums expected to be used in the 2018 Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup. An additional RUR 22 billion (US$ 674 million) will be spent on training centres for the teams taking part, according to consultancy PMR.

According to PMR, Russia has put forward a short-list of 13 cities for the 2018 event - Moscow, St Petersburg, Kaliningrad, Rostov-on-Don, Krasnodar, Sochi, Yaroslavl, Nizhny Novgorod, Saransk, Kazan, Samara, Volgograd and Yekaterinburg. This is expected to be reduced to the final list of 11 host cities by the end of the year, based on FIFA selection criteria that include the availability of infrastructure.

Five proposed stadiums are already under construction in St Petersburg, Saransk, kazan, Sochi and the Spartak Stadium in Moscow. The Luzhniki and Yekaterinburg Stadiums in Moscow are also having work done on them to modernise them. The Luzhniki Stadium has a capacity of nearly 90,000 spectators and was the focal point for the 1980 Moscow Olympics. It is widely expected to host the final game of the 2018 World Cup.

The first venue to see work start was the Fisht Stadium in Sochi, in 2007, due to its role in the 2014 Winter Olympics. However, PMR says the peak of activity for the 2018 event will be 2013 and 2014, with most of the remaining projects expected to get underway in 2013, and completion of all 15 venues due in 2017.

In addition to at least one stadium, each host city is required by FIFA to provide a choice of four training sites, two of which will eventually be approved. Each centre must have at least one full-sized pitch and be within one hour of the nearest international airport and 20 minutes of the team hotel.