Situation

The Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, desi­gned for the 2018 World Cup, lies at the confluence of the Oka and Volga rivers. Located within view of the city center of the Russian metro­polis, the circular stadium with seating for 45,000 spec­ta­tors is embedded in a park land­scape that opens out to the bank of the River Volga.

The stadium has been desi­gned in accordance with the condi­tions appli­cable to World Cup venues in Russia, which stipu­late a capa­city of 45,000 spec­ta­tors and a circular basic shape. On this basis, gmp deve­loped the geometry of the grand­stand bowl with rows of seating arranged in parallel to the edge of the pitch, thereby provi­ding all spec­ta­tors with favorable viewing condi­tions. In addi­tion, the straight­for­ward geometry lends itself to the use of prefa­bri­cated concrete elements in cons­truc­tion and to the effi­cient orga­niza­tion of the func­tional areas.

City and legacy

Nizhny Novgorod has played an important role in Russia’s history. It was here that Kuzma Minin and Dmitry Pozharsky gathered a volun­teer army in the 17th century to libe­rate Moscow from foreign inva­ders. The Nizhny Novgorod Fair, which opened in the 19th century, was a major site for dome­stic and inter­na­tional trade, winning the city the nick­name “Nation’s purse”. In the 20th century, the city deve­loped as a large indus­trial center with major machine bulding plants, inclu­ding the GAZ auto­mo­bile plant, which is known around the world. Nizhny Novgorod has the fifth largest popu­la­tion in Russia.

The design deve­loped by gmp in 2014 was used by the Russian part­ners as a blue­print for the detailed design and inde­pen­dent imple­men­ta­tion.

The stadium will be home to local club Olym­piets Nizhny Novgorod.