Malaya Arena, Petrovsky – stadium description

“Small Arena” of the Petrovskiy Sports Complex was built along with the main stadium in 1925. Located just over 50 meters from the main one and literally 15 meters from the waters of Malaya Neva, it always served the role of training/youth venue for the main one.

Always, but not during WWII. In that period the stadium was used to host anti-aircraft battery. Later it was rebuilt in 1961 and then again in 1994. Since 2003 it also offers under-soil heating to cope with use even during the harsh winters.

For many years it's been the training stadium for Zenit, more recently also being the temporary home of FC Tosno, before the team won their historic first promotion to the Premier Liga in 2017.