More than two years before the 2018 World Cup in Russia, the head of the organizing committee of this country, the Minister of Sports and President of the Russian Football Union, Vitaly Mutko, announced that the biggest problems with this event arose in Lithuania's possession - in the Kaliningrad region.
As explained by V. Mutko, construction of the stadium in Kaliningrad is delayed due to the excessive desire of the local authorities to "bite off more than they can chew." The leaders of the region want to build a stadium of gold value, with no plan for what to do with it after the football event ends.
"The biggest problem of the championship became the stadium in Kaliningrad. This stadium became a headache, as nothing was happening and it required a political decision to move the project forward," said the Russian Minister of Sports. "Now the project preparation in the Kaliningrad region has been taken over by federal authorities and by October 30, the conclusions of experts regarding the construction will be presented, and we will sign documents for the construction of the stadium in November."
Rejecting the utopian plans prepared by the Kaliningrad region for renting sports facilities, it is expected that one of the twelve stadiums hosting matches of the 2018 World Cup will be built in two years in the center of Kaliningrad, on October Island, and will be able to accommodate 35,000 fans.
After the championship, it will be downsized and will be able to accommodate tens of thousands less sports fans.
"We are in a corner - but we must take action to build the stadium. And on time. We will monitor the construction ourselves to avoid unpleasant surprises," explained V. Mutko.
He assured that the financing of the construction was undertaken by the organizing committee, and the infrastructure issues - such as roads, parks, and housing construction - will be covered by the Kaliningrad region.
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