By David Gold
April 18 – Russia’s Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko has announced that approximately $5 billion (£3 billion) would be required for the construction of new stadiums and upgrades to the country’s infrastructure for the World Cup in 2018.
Just over 80 per cent of the money would be required for the construction and renovation of stadiums.
The Dynamo and Luzhniki Stadiums in Moscow are due for renovation, whilst the city is also building two new stadiums; the Region Stadium and the Spartak Stadium, which will be the home ground of Russian Premier League giants Spartak Moscow.
The final decision on the stadiums to be used during the 2018 tournament has yet to be made, but cities in the running include Rostov, Saransk, Nizhny Novograd, Yaroslav, Volvograd, Samara, Krasnodar, St. Petersburg and Yekaterinburg.
Sochi is also in the running to host games during the competition, and is currently building a new stadium which will be the main venue for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.
The final decision on the venues to be used will be made in 2013.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin last week held a meeting at which he laid out Russia’s plans for constructing a new high speed rail network and upgrading Russian airports to cope with increased demand during the World Cup.
“A celebration of football over a whole month will leave our country with a cultural and financial windfall that will serve the nation for decades to come,” said Putin.
“We’re talking about rapid expansion of sports, transport and hotel infrastructure, about new businesses and jobs, about new international and personal relationships.
“Tens of thousands of people from all over the globe will visit Russia and see with their own eyes a modern, rapidly growing country that is open to the world.”
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