Baltic Arena – design description

After Kaliningrad was submitted as part of Russia's successful bid to host 2018 World Cup, international concept competition was announced for the 45,000-seater, which is expected to become the centrepiece of October Island revitalisation project.

French architects of Willmotte et Associes proved best with their plan to build a stadium possible to downscale to 25,000 by removing upper tier of seating and lowering the entire roof.

Very simple and modern facades were modified to a more irregular and dynamic form, expected to resemble amber. Stands were also changed – the temporary upper tier became more simple and not a complete ring, with corners being given to small indoor arenas.

The sole idea of removing upper tier was retained, however a retractable roof over the pitch was added in 2013, not being part of the project initially.