Key facts<\/h3>\n

Club: FC Zenit | Opening: 2017 | Capacity: 68,000 seats<\/p>\n

History and description<\/h3>\n

Gazprom Arena, also known as Saint Petersburg Stadium, Zenit Arena, and Krestovsky Stadium, got built to serve as a new modern home of FC Zenit and as one of the playing venues of the 2018 World Cup. It was built in place of the former Kirov Stadium<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Planning for the new stadium began late 2005, and first construction works started by the end of 2008. The stadium was initially planned to be completed in 2009, but works were\u00a0hampered by a series of delays, including a redesign to comply with FIFA requirements and fraud investigations.<\/p>\n

Works finally sped up in 2016 and the stadium was completed in April 2017, however overall costs had soared past $1 billion, which made it one of the most expensive stadiums ever built.<\/p>\n

The first official match at Saint Petersburg Stadium was played on 22 April 2017 when Zenit hosted Ural for a league match (2-0).<\/p>\n

The stadium has been designed\u00a0by Japanese architecture firm Kisho Kurokawa<\/a> and resembles the form of a spaceship with the roof held up by four masts. It has some similarities with that of the Japanese Toyota Stadium<\/a>, which was designed by the same firm.<\/p>\n

Saint Petersburg Stadium was one of the playing venues of the 2018 World Cup<\/a> in Russia, during which it hosted four first round group matches, a quarter final, the semi final between France and Belgium (1-0), and the match for third place between Belgium and England (2-0). It also hosted four matches during the 2017 Confederations Cup, including the final.<\/p>\n

After the World Cup, the stadium took the sponsor name Gazprom Arena.<\/p>\n

In 2021, the stadium was once again a playing venue during a major tournament when it hosted six first round group matches and the quarter final between Spain and Switzerland (1-1) during the 2020 European Championships<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Gazprom Arena has been selected to host the 2022 Champions League final<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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