Luzhniki Stadium: A fantastic Stadium for a great Final
The Grand Sports Arena of the Luzhniki Olympic Complex Stadium, is a multipurpose stadium in the city of Moscow, Russia. Now its total capacity is 84,000 seats, all covered. The stadium is part of the Luzhniki Olympic Complex, previously called the Central Lenin Stadium. 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 stadiums to use an artificial pitch, as it installed a FIFA-approved Field Turf 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 has been installed for the 2008 Champions League Final.The Grand Arena of the Central Lenin Stadium was the chief venue for the 1980 Summer Olympic Games, 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 for this sport.It was built in 1956 in a zone close to Moscova river and under the name of “Central Lenin Stadium” the official opening take place on 31st July 1956 with a football match in which the Soviet Union team won the China Popular Republic team by 1-0. It was renewed in 1995-1997 and its name changed to the present name. Quality and safety of the stands was improved, capacity was optimised to 84,000 seats and it was fully covered. This is the Stadium where all football fans will be present, in situ or trough the TV, next 21st May.