VEB Arena

VEB Arena (Russian: «ВЭБ-Арена»), known as Arena CSKA due to UEFA sponsorship regulations, is a multi-use stadium in Khodynka Field, Moscow, Russia, that was completed in 2016. It is used mostly for football matches and host the home matches of PFC CSKA Moscow and occasionally the Russian national team.

Not to be confused with another stadium in Moscow named VTB Arena.
VEB Arena
UEFA
LocationKhodynka Field, Moscow, Russia
Coordinates55°47′29″N 37°30′58″E
Public transit CSKA
Zorge
OwnerPFC CSKA Moscow
OperatorPFC CSKA Moscow
Capacity30,457 (Russian Premier League)[1]
Record attendance29,284 (CSKA Moscow–Arsenal, 12 April 2018)
Field size110 x 68 m
SurfaceGrass
Construction
Broke ground19 May 2007
Opened10 September 2016[2]
Construction cost350 million USD[3]
Tenants
PFC CSKA Moscow (2016–present)
Russia national football team (selected matches)

The stadium is located near the Khodynka Field in the Park of Birch Grove.

History

The construction process started in 2007 but had been halted several times, with the longest pause lasting 16 months (between 2009 and 2011).

VEB Arena during UCL match between CSKA Moscow and Manchester United

The VEB Arena was designed with a capacity of 30,000 people. An integral part of the stadium is a skyscraper designed to resemble the UEFA Cup, the first European trophy won by a Russian club, with CSKA beating Sporting CP in 2005. The 142 meter-tall skyscraper is to stand in one of the corners, but the remaining three will also have office spaces and skyboxes instead of regular stands. There are 1,400 car park spaces planned.

The first match at the new stadium was to be the game for the 2016 Russian Super Cup between the Russian champion - CSKA and the Cup Winner - Zenit on July 23, 2016 , but due to the object being unprepared the game was moved to RZD Arena. September 4, 2016 was the debut match, without spectators (a friendly match with Torpedo Moscow), in which CSKA won 3:0. The first official match at the stadium was held on September 10 against Terek and won 3:0. The first goal in the new arena was scored by Lacina Traoré.[4]

On September 27 CSKA held the first European Cups' match at the stadium - in the UEFA Champions League against the English club Tottenham Hotspur, where they lost 0-1. February 28, 2017 in Sochi the stadium was decided to receive the name VEB Arena.[5] The first match at the stadium with a new name CSKA held March 4, 2017 against Zenit, the game ended with a draw, 0:0. The match updated attendance record (26.800 spectators). April 30, 2017 CSKA played against Spartak. The game ended with CSKA defeat (1:2), this was the first defeat of CSKA Moscow at its stadium in the Russian Championship. June 9, 2017 Russian national team played at the stadium for the first time. In a friendly game they played against Chile. The match ended in a draw 1:1, the author of the Russian team goal was CSKA player Viktor Vasin.

On 28 February 2017, CSKA Moscow announced that they had sold the naming rights to the stadium to Russian bank VEB, with the stadium becoming the VEB Arena.[6]

Exactly one year after the first European Cups' match at the stadium, CSKA also played in the UEFA Champions League against the English team - this time Manchester United. September 27, 2017. CSKA lost 1-4. At VEB Arena there were 29,073 spectators. October 7, 2017 VEB Arena held a friendly game between Russia and South Korea. The meeting ended with a victory of the hosts, 4:2. November 22, 2017 VEB Arena hosted a game of the UEFA Champions League between CSKA Moscow and S.L. Benfica. The match ended with the victory of CSKA with a score of 2:0.

On 12 April 2018, in UEFA Europa League quarter-final between CSKA and Arsenal (2:2) was set an attendance record - 29,284 spectators.

A panoramic photograph of the stadium

Russian fixtures
Date Time Result Competition Attendance Ref.
June 9, 2017 19:00 MSK (UTC+3) Russia  1–1  Chile Friendly 22,000 [7]
October 7, 2017 17:00 MSK (UTC+3) Russia  4–2  South Korea 24,200 [8]
June 5, 2018 19:00 MSK (UTC+3) Russia  1–1  Turkey 27,423 [9]

Concerts

Park Live 5 festival took place at the stadium, System Of A Down and Three Days Grace performed in front of more than 20,000 people.

See also

References
  1. "Arena CSKA (VEB Arena)".
  2. http://www.sportfakt.ru/football/103298/
  3. https://news.rambler.ru/sport/34503191-nazvana-stoimost-stadiona-tsska-v-moskve/
  4. http://pfc-cska.com/novosti/vse-novosti/stadium/arena-cska-vvedena-v-ekspluataciju/
  5. "About VEB ARENA in English".
  6. "PFC CSKA seal naming rights deal with VEB". pfc-cska.com. CSKA Moscow. 28 February 2017. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  7. "Russia 1–1 Chile: Alexis Sanchez bags an instant assist but Viktor Vasin ensures the spoils are shared". Daily Mail. June 10, 2017.
  8. "Two own goals help World Cup hosts Russia beat South Korea". Reuters. October 8, 2017.
  9. "Russia – Turkey". BBC Sport. June 5, 2017.
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