Luzhniki Stadium – tournament stadium description

History

In its initial configuration it was able to host 103,000 people and on a number of occasions was reported to draw crowds well beyond that number. The national stadium in Luzhniki was such a priority for the USSR authorities, that it's erection took priority over a whole district of Moscow, while supplies were imported from all around the Soviet Union.

The single-tiered seating bowl lost a lot of its capacity with the era of individual seats, limiting the capacity to below 80,000. But before that happened, Luzhniki hosted the 1980 Olympics. In the following decade, in 1996, the stadium received its first ever roof. A completely independent structure based on columns outside the stadium was built, elevating the stadium's height and making it even more of a landmark of Moscow.

Olympics aside, the stadium played crucial role to football in USSR and Russia. Numerous clubs have temporarily used it as their home, to name just Spartak, CSKA and Torpedo. Domestic cup finals, Champions League games and, more importantly, international cup finals, like the UEFA Cup of 1999 and CL final of 2008. All it lacked was a World Cup final. Until 2018, that is!

Design

The largest ever reconstruction in the stadium's history took place ahead of the 2018 World Cup. Several variants were under consideration, including demolition of the whole stadium and construction of a futuristic weatherproof arena in its place. Eventually a compromise was found between old and new as Moscow authorities decided to retain the historic walls and existing roof of the stadium. This created a shell under which reconstruction was to take place.

Such move was possible also thanks to FIFA who agreed to lower the minimum capacity requirement from around 90,000 to 80,000. With lower number of seats it became possible to create a brand new seating bowl inside, for the first time in history without a running track. The new layout fits just perfectly, with the uppermost row being placed 37.5m above the field, just under the roof. Eventually almost 81,000 seats were enabled, divided into two large tiers and a thin strip of 102 private boxes between them.

Thanks to the stands being moved closer to the field, vast new infrastructure was created underneath the auditorium. The stadium grew to 6 floors and with floor space of 221,000 m² it became one of the largest in the world. This created room for extra facilities, like VVIP parking sites under north and south stands, which in turn helped to preserve the green realm around the stadium itself instead of covering it with asphalt.

Change in seating layout forced a change of the roof itself. While all of the old structure was preserved, additional 7,000 m² of translucent sheets were created around the inner edges to properly protect fans in new front rows. The whole roof received new cladding with lighting installed within it, which makes Luzhniki's roof the largest video screen in Moscow.

Extension of the roof also prompted a change in the field type. Instead of natural (2008-2013), the world's most modern hybrid turf was installed to withstand limited ventilation and sunlight access, as well as harsh Moscow winters.

World Cup games

Phase	Game	Attendance	Date (CET)
Group A	Russia 5–0 Saudi Arabia	78,011	14/06/2018 17:00
Group F	Germany 0–1 Mexico	78,011	17/06/2018 17:00
Group B	Portugal 1–0 Morocco	78,011	20/06/2018 14:00
Group C	Denmark 0–0 France	78,011	26/06/2018 16:00
Round of 16	Spain 1–1 (3-4p) Russia	78,011	01/07/2018 16:00
Semifinal	Croatia 2-1 England	78,011	11/07/2018 20:00
Final	France – Croatia		15/07/2018 17:00
	18 goals / Avg: 2.6	Total: 546,077 / Avg: 78,011