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Luzhniki Stadium
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Luzhniki Stadium | |
|---|---|
 Stadium as seen from Sparrow Hills UEFA  |
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| Location |  Moscow, Russia |
| Opened | 31 July 1956 |
| Owner | FC Torpedo Moscow |
| Surface | FieldTurf |
| Tenants | |
| FC Torpedo Moscow FC Spartak Moscow 1973 Summer Universiade 1980 Summer Olympics |
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| Capacity | |
| 84,745 | |
The Grand Sports Arena of the Luzhniki Olympic Complex (Большая спортивная арена Олимпийского комплекса Лужники) in Moscow, or briefly Luzhniki Stadium (Стадион "Лужники"), is the biggest sports stadium in Russia. Its total seating capacity is 84,745 seats, all covered. The stadium is a part of the Luzhniki Olympic Complex, previously called the Central Lenin Stadium (Центральный стадион имени В. И. Ленина).
The Luzhniki Stadium has been scheduled by UEFA to host the 2008 UEFA Champions League final. However, due to an upcoming review of venues eligible to host the Champions League Final (announced by UEFA President Michel Platini on June 6, 2007) this decision could be reversed, and a stadium with enhanced turnstile and ticketing technology could be chosen instead. [1]This follows a much-publicised set of incidents at the 2007 Champions League Final at the Spiros Louis Olympic Stadium in Athens, where lax security and ticket checks allowed many fans of both AC Milan and Liverpool F.C. to get in without the proper tickets.
Its field is used mainly for football games by Torpedo Moscow club, which is owned by the sports complex itself, and Spartak Moscow. It is also one of the few major European stadia to use an artificial pitch, as it installed a FIFA-approved FieldTurf pitch in 2002. The pitch is necessary for the cold Russian climate, as regular grass pitches are often destroyed during a typical winter and must be replaced at high cost. However, natural grass will be installed for the 2008 Champions League Final[1].
The Grand Arena of the Central Lenin Stadium was the chief venue for the 1980 Summer Olympics, the spectator capacity being 103,000 at that time. The events hosted in this stadium were the Opening and Closing ceremonies, Athletics, Football finals, and the Individual Jumping Grand Prix.
The Luzhniki Stadium also hosted the final game of the 1957 Ice Hockey World Championship between Sweden and the Soviet Union, attended by a crowd of 55,000 and setting a new world record.
On October 20, 1982, disaster struck during the UEFA Cup match between FC Spartak Moscow and HFC Haarlem. Scores of people were trampled. The official number of deaths is 66 but many people believe this number to be significantly higher. [2]
In 1989, the Lenin Stadium was the location for the Moscow Peace Festival. The Moscow Music Peace Festival was an effort by the Make A Difference Foundation and rock producers and organizers in the US and USSR. It was held over two days, and was essentially the first festival of its kind, that is, that openly was presenting Western heavy metal acts with an emphasis on international cooperation on preventing drug abuse. The festival featured artists such as Bon Jovi, Scorpions, Ozzy Osbourne, Skid Row, Mötley Crüe, Cinderella and Gorky Park.
The stadium also makes an appearance in the Russian film Night Watch (Russian: Ночной дозор, Nochnoy Dozor), during the power shut-down scene when the power station goes into overload. The stadium is seen with a match taking place, and then the lights go out.
| Preceded by Parc des Princes Paris |
UEFA Cup Final Venue 1999 |
Succeeded by Parken Stadium Copenhagen |
| Preceded by Olympic Stadium Athens |
UEFA Champions League Final Venue 2008 |
Succeeded by Stadio Olimpico Rome |
| Preceded by Daegu World Cup Stadium  Daegu |
IAAF World Championships in Athletics Venue 2013 |
Succeeded by To be decided |
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| Athens, 1896 • Paris, 1900 • St Louis, 1904 • London, 1908 • Stockholm, 1912 • Antwerp, 1920 • Paris, 1924 • Amsterdam, 1928 • Los Angeles, 1932 • Berlin, 1936 • London, 1948 • Helsinki, 1952 • Melbourne, 1956 • Rome, 1960 • Tokyo, 1964 • México City, 1968 • Munich, 1972 • Montréal, 1976 • Moscow, 1980 • Los Angeles, 1984 • Seoul, 1988 • Barcelona, 1992 • Atlanta, 1996 • Sydney, 2000 • Athens, 2004 • Beijing, 2008 • London, 2012 |
Categories: 1956 architecture | Sports venues built in the Soviet Union | Buildings and structures in Moscow | Football venues in Russia | Venues of the 1980 Summer Olympics | Olympic stadiums | Outdoor ice hockey venues in Russia | Sport in Moscow | Sports venues in Russia | UEFA 5 star stadiums | FC Torpedo Moscow | Spartak Moscow | National stadiums