MOSCOW, October 11 (R-Sport) – Refurbishing Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium, the venue for the 2018 World Cup final, will take three and a half years, City Hall in the Russian capital announced Friday.
The hulking, iconic arena on the banks of the Moskva River closed after the world athletics championships in August, and work is to start in the New Year as the final design has yet to be agreed, authorities said in a statement.
After the work is completed in April 2017, the stadium will have a capacity of 81,000, up from today’s 78,000. This is under the increase FIFA asked for, but football’s world governing body settled for less after discussions with Moscow officials worried about the potential 1.5 billion-euro cost of a more extensive rebuild.
The refurbishment will include 300 places for people with disabilities.
The last football match played there was a league game in May.
The stadium hosted athletics at the 1980 Olympics and is best known in football circles for holding the 2008 Champions League final, when Manchester United beat Chelsea on penalties after extra time finished 1-1.
Luzhniki will host the opening match, a semifinal and the final. It will not be used for the 2017 Confederations Cup, which will be staged in new stadiums belonging to Zenit St. Petersburg, Spartak Moscow, the Kazan Arena and Sochi's Fisht Olympic Stadium.
