Construction Delays Hit Russian World Cup Venues

(ATR) Two more football stadiums will not be ready until mere months before the Russia 2018 FIFA World Cup kicks off in June.

The stadiums in Volgograd and Nizhny Novgorod have fallen behind schedule according to Russian government documents that outline spending plans for the projects. The completion date of each stadium was moved to 2018 after originally being slated to finish in December 2017.

Each stadium will seat 45,000 fans during world football’s premier event. Russia 2018 organizers have not specified a new completion date but have previously reported that each will be ready for the beginning of the tournament.

These stadium delays follow setbacks at one of the primary stadiums for the 2018 World Cup in St. Petersburg which will stage semi-final matches of the tournament. Former Russian sports minister and president of the Russia 2018 organizing committee Vitaly Mutko announced in March that the stadium was three months behind schedule.

The St. Petersburg project began in 2006 and was originally expected to be completed in 2008. However, a series of delays resulting from financial concerns with contractors, accusations of mismanagement and rising costs of construction has pushed the project past the 10-year mark.

Before the three month delay, the stadium was expected to be ready by the end of the 2016. It now seems the stadium will be ready at some point in 2017, although any expected completion date should be taken with a grain of salt at this point.

The 2018 FIFA World Cup will run from June 14 to July 15.

Written by Kevin Nutley

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