Vitaly Mutko: ‘I hope Rubin’s bad days are behind’
The stadium built by Kazan Production and Construction Association is 2-3 months ‘late’ and can go up to 19bn rubles
During his visit to Kazan, the Minister of Sport of the Russian Federation Vitaly Mutko stated about the necessity of an urgent adoption of a Law on Professional Sport. He supported Arkady Rotenberg's opinion, which was given on 22 April at the meeting with Vladimir Putin, that centralization of hockey with the help of the federation is needed to develop hockey. Moreover, the Minister expressed his worry about the course of the construction of the stadium in Samara by the 2018 FIFA WC and the quality of the pitch at Kazan-Arena.
Pitch at Kazan-Arena is to be put in order
The visit of the Minister of Sport of Russia to the main stadium of the republic was connected with the coming match of the final of the Russian Championship, which will be held in Kazan for the first time. It should be reminded that CSKA (Moscow) and Zenit (St.Petersburg) will fight for the title of the champion on 2 May, and the match will take place in the capital of Tatarstan. According to Mutko, Kazan-Arena has experience in the organization of matches, and the choice of Kazan as a host city of the final game is justified. 'In general, everything is ready, the pitch causes a worry a bit, but I think it will be put in order by 2 May. I hope the match will be held in a good stadium to a full house, and with the help of our teams, we will return that spectacle that existed for many years during the Soviet and Russian era,' the Minister stated.
As for safety matters, Mutko promised to have meetings with the administration of fans of both teams. According to him, about 5,000 fans will come from St. Petersburg, and 3,000 fans will be from Moscow. 'I hope people will come to support, Kazan is a hospitable city,' Mutko said. 13,000 tickets have already been sold, that is to say, it accounts for less than a third of the total capacity. And, as he supposes, if the Minister has any worry caused by the state of the stadium, the main Tatarstan team needs to improve its results. 'I hope Rubin's bad days are behind. There must be a fantastic team in such a city and in such a stadium, Mutko replied a question about the results of the Kazan club.
Will the stadium in Samara face the same fate that Kaliningrad did?
The Minister commented the work of the Tatarstan constructors on the threshold of the 2018 FIFA WC. As he opines, the stadium in Saransk, which is built by Kazan Production and Construction Association, doesn't cause any worry. 'The readiness is at 42%, the stadium is like a four-storey building. I think the roof will be laid by the end of the year if everything is fine,' the Minister says. Unlike the second stadium built in Samara by Kazan Production and Construction Association. 'They slowed down a bit there. It is linked with the absence of construction document because there is a new decree of the government on the inclusion of safety requirements in this document. In December, we will have to apply it to all projects. Now the stadium in Samara is the last stadium that is examined because of a discussion concerning the price for the stadium. I hope it will be finished next week, and paces after the examination will accelerate,' Mutko expects. Mutko guesses that the construction period of the stadium is postponed for 2-3. As for the outlay of the stadium, the Ministry is expecting its increase.
'It is the first stadium that was examined. Its price was 15,4 (bn rubles), and it was calculated according to so-called regional costing standards. Today we are trying to leave regional or federal standards and fix a concrete price: if bitumen has a price, it is its price. And we try to accept works for a concrete price of that day,' Mutko tells. So, the stadium in Samara is to have a price of an average stadium – 18-19bn rubles, as he thinks. The Minister supposes that it is also a problem that the authority of Samara Oblast projected the construction itself. 'In Kaliningrad, the stadium was projected on their own, so that we have two problematic stadiums. In Kaliningrad, you know that we were fed up, we refused the project, designated a contractor, created a (new) project and launched the construction on our own. Now it is outstripping. In Samara, it is something similar. We see it is global and big,' the functionary admitted. But at present, according to his words, there is no mention about the substitution of the contractor. At the same time the possibilities of the budget of the WC are limited, and it will be necessary to look for internal reserves to increase the outlay,' Mutko reminds.
Russian hockey needs a federation
The Minister also mentioned a meeting on development of hockey with the participation of the President of Russia Vladimir Putin, which was held on 22 April. Mutko promised that he would accelerate the adoption of the Law on Professional Sport at the President's suggestion. 'I hope we will be able to elaborate this suggestion with all approval organisations by Monday. I want to draw a line under it,' he tells. Mutko reminded that the Ministry of Sport is to head the sector, but the role of the federation is also very important. 'It is responsible for the development of sport and defines its system. Why is everything fine in football and there is a Premier League? We delegated the power of qualification bodies, refereeing, and now they fall within the jurisdiction of the federation. It must be like this, no one should order work, estimate it and pay for it,' the functionary thinks. He guesses the same system must exist in hockey too.
What is more, he reminded the number of people playing hockey increased by 160,000 people in the recent 5-7 years. 'All people compare the number of ice rinks in America and Canada per capita. But if we preserve these paces, which is very difficult in our economic situation, there will be 400 ice rinks in 10 years, of course. I think that paces are colossal, I don't know how to accelerate them, I don't see any reserves,' Mutko stated and noted at the same time that municipal authorities and administrations play the major role in the development of sport now. 'Why does Tatarstan have 41 ice rinks and they can build them, while neighbouring Bashkiria has only 15? Their economic situation is the same, but somebody pays attention to it, while somebody waits for subsidies from the federal budget,' Mutko praised Tatarstan.