Each city has its own history, including sports. Large cities with a population of more than a million people usually have several sports facilities for the development of not only professional, but also amateur sports. The hero city of Volgograd, which has a wonderful history, both civil and sports, is no exception.
The history of the stadium "Zenith" in Volgograd
Zenit Stadium (Volgograd) is the oldest sports facility not only in the region, but throughout the country. This stadium was built in the city in the summer of 1927. Soon this building will celebrate its ninetieth anniversary. For a long time, the complex was central in the city until in the mid-sixties a home arena was built for the Volgograd Rotor - the Central Stadium. And even after that, Zenit was not empty - it regularly hosted competitions of regional, city, and even international proportions. And in 2013, the qualifying match of the European Youth Championship was played. With the beginning of the reconstruction of the central stadium of Volgograd, the importance of the Zenit stadium for the city has increased significantly. Currently, the Zenit stadium (Volgograd) looks like the one shown in the photo.
Preparation for the World Cup in 2018
Due to the fact that Russia received the right to host the World Cup in 2018, cities were selected in which matches of this mundial will be held. Among the cities that won this right is Volgograd. By the upcoming championship in the city, it was decided to build a new stadium. To implement these plans, the Central Stadium was demolished, serving about half a century to the residents of the city and the football clubs that played in this arena. The newest stadium "Volgograd Arena" will be built on this place, which will host matches of the group stage of the World Cup. But the stadium "Zenith" (Volgograd) will also not remain aloof from this football holiday. It is currently undergoing reconstruction work, and the stadium will be a training base for one of the teams, which will be based on the time of the group tournament in Volgograd.
Sports complex "Zenith"
In addition, the Zenit stadium (Volgograd) is part of the sports complex of the same name. After the appropriate reconstruction and construction of additional sports facilities, it has become a modern city center for the development of sports at an amateur and professional level. What is part of this complex? The basis of the sports center is made up of two football fields. One of them is intended for football matches and has stands for spectators, and the other for the training process. Also around the playing field there are eight athletics tracks, allowing for a variety of competitions at various levels.
In addition, the Zenit sports complex includes tennis courts, a swimming pool, and halls for practicing various sports are located in the podium rooms. A view of one of these halls is shown in the photograph.
Use of the stadium by the football club "Rotor" (Volgograd)
After the central stadium of the city began preparations for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, FC Rotor (Volgograd) began to need a home arena to host matches of the Russian championship.
Zenit Stadium readily performed this function. Of course, the stands of this stadium are not as spacious as they were at Tsentralny; nevertheless, the Rotor team was provided with an excellent football field with an excellent grass pitch. Thanks to this "Rotor" all conditions are provided so that it can rise like a phoenix from the ashes.