Kirov Stadium
Encyclopedia
Kirov Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium
Multi-purpose stadium
Multi-purpose stadiums are a type of stadium designed in such a way as to be easily used by multiple sports. While any stadium could potentially host more than one sport, this concept usually refers to a specific design philosophy that stresses multi-functionality over specificity...

 in St. Petersburg, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

, and was one of the largest stadiums anywhere in the world. The stadium was named after Sergey Kirov
Sergey Kirov
Sergei Mironovich Kirov , born Sergei Mironovich Kostrikov, was a prominent early Bolshevik leader in the Soviet Union. Kirov rose through the Communist Party ranks to become head of the Party organization in Leningrad...

.

The stands of the Kirov stadium were located on the slopes of a circular artificial mound in the western part of Krestovsky Island
Krestovsky Island
Krestovsky Island is a 3.4 km² island in Saint Petersburg, Russia, situated between several tributaries of the Neva: the Srednyaya Nevka, the Malaya Nevka and the Krestovka. The island is served by the Krestovsky Ostrov "Крестовский остров" station of Saint Petersburg Metro...

, on the coast of the Gulf of Finland
Gulf of Finland
The Gulf of Finland is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland and Estonia all the way to Saint Petersburg in Russia, where the river Neva drains into it. Other major cities around the gulf include Helsinki and Tallinn...

. Construction started in 1932, initial project was designed by architect Aleksandr Nikolsky and his workshop. During the 1930s and 1940s, construction was mainly focused on groundworks for the artificial mound on the sea shore. Construction was interrupted by the World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 and the Siege of Leningrad
Siege of Leningrad
The Siege of Leningrad, also known as the Leningrad Blockade was a prolonged military operation resulting from the failure of the German Army Group North to capture Leningrad, now known as Saint Petersburg, in the Eastern Front theatre of World War II. It started on 8 September 1941, when the last...

, and resumed in 1945 with the return of citizens to Leningrad. Thousands of Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...

 and Red Navy recruits were also conscripted as labor force for construction.

The stadium was open on 30 July 1950 with the game between two main Leningrad teams, Zenit and Dynamo
FC Dynamo Saint Petersburg
FC Dynamo Saint Petersburg is an association football club from Saint Petersburg, Russia. The club played in the Russian First Division in 2010 after winning the Western zone of the Russian Second Division in 2009. But, the club relegated back to the third level after finishing 16th in 2010...

, drew 1-1. Initially the stadium held 100,000 people (including 16,000 standing places).

For the match between Zenit and CSKA on 14 July 1951, additional temporary stands were installed, increasing the capacity of the stadium to 110,000. The stadium was sold out, and the attendance of 110,000 is the record for the Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

 football. Kirov stadium was reconstructed to hold preliminary matches of the football tournament
Football at the 1980 Summer Olympics
thumb|right|Official Programme of the match [[USSR]] vs [[Venezuela]]The football tournament at the 1980 Summer Olympics started on July 20 and ended on August 2. Only one event, the men's tournament, was contested...

 at the 1980 Summer Olympics
1980 Summer Olympics
The 1980 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Moscow in the Soviet Union. In addition, the yachting events were held in Tallinn, and some of the preliminary matches and the quarter-finals of the football tournament...

. The capacity was reduced to 72,000.

In 1994 the stadium was used as the main arena for the St. Petersburg 1994
1994 Goodwill Games
The 1994 Goodwill Games was the third edition of the multi-sport event, created by Ted Turner, which was held in Saint Petersburg, Russia between July 23 and August 7, 1994...

 Goodwill Games
Goodwill Games
The Goodwill Games was an international sports competition, created by Ted Turner in reaction to the political troubles surrounding the Olympic Games of the 1980s...

. This was the last major international event at the Kirov Stadium, with participation of athletes from over 50 nations of the world. After the Goodwill Games, the stadium was used for several more years for football matches, as well as for athletics and training. In 2005 it was decided to demolish the main arena of the stadium and build a new one in its place. International competition for construction design of the new Zenit Stadium was won by architect Kisho Kurokawa.

The Kirov stadium was the home to Zenit football club in 1950-1989 and 1992. On 6 July 2006 Zenit decided to play a match against Dynamo Moscow
FC Dynamo Moscow
Dynamo Moscow is a Russian football club based in Moscow, currently playing in the Russian Premier League. Dynamo's traditional kit colours are blue and white...

 at the Kirov stadium because of unavailability of pitch at the Petrovsky Stadium
Petrovsky Stadium
The Petrovsky Stadium is a sport complex that consists of a number of sport buildings. One of them is the Grand Sport Arena which is the home of FC Zenit of Saint Petersburg, Russia and for simplicity referred by everyone as Petrovsky Stadium. The complex also contains another football stadium,...

, the current Zenit ground. Part of the seats were already uninstalled because of planned deconstruction, so the match was visited by only 44,000 spectators despite the sold-out stadium.

The last official match at Kirov stadium was FC Petrotrest - Spartak Shelkovo on 17 August 2006. Visitors won 3-0.

The stadium was demolished in September 2006. A new stadium (see New Zenit Stadium) is under construction, tentatively scheduled to open in 2013.
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