The Luzhniki Stadium is located in the Khamovniki district of Moscow, just southwest of the city centre. The nearest metro stop is Sportivnaya (red line - 2 stops from circle to the south), exit the station, walk straight ahead to Luzhniki stadium) or walk along the banks of the Moskova river from the Kremlin right down to the stadium – it will take approximately 15 minutes from the station to walk up to the ground. The stadium is approx 6.7km from Red Square and takes approx 15 minutes in a cab - providing that there is no other traffic in Russia! When there is, however, (which is pretty much all day, everyday), the journey can take hours and run in to a very expensive trip - which makes the metro a much more attractive and more realistic option.
The Luzhniki stadium is home to Torpedo Moscow, and a Uefa/Fifa-approved FieldTurf system was installed in 2002, in order to cope with the effects of extreme Russian winters. However, Uefa have insisted that a grass pitch be laid for this game.
Neighbours Spartak Moscow played their Champions League games here last season when their own natural pitch was unplayable, and though artificial pitches had never previously been used in Europe's premier competition, but none of the visiting teams who played on it appeared particularly perturbed by the surface. Sporting Lisbon and Bayern Munich both drew with their hosts, while Internazionale won 1-0.
This vast bowl of a stadium was, incredibly, built in just one year before being officially opened to the Russian public in 1956. Further work was carried out in readiness for the 1980 Olympics, and the stadium is now the centrepiece of the Luzhniki sports complex, a 160-hectare site next to the Moskva river and incorporating facilities for swimming, figure skating, tennis, gymnastics and football.
The stadium itself has a retractable transparent roof and can seat a sizeable 82,365 spectators, but is not blessed with the most glorious of histories. It was the location of one of Europe's worst stadium tragedy, when, on October 20, 1982, 66 Spartak Moscow fans perished in a mass crush during a UEFA cup match between Spartak and HFC Haarlem. A monument at the stadium marks the tragedy. A large statue of Lenin stands near the entrance, and many Muscovites still use its former name – The Central Lenin Stadium.
Getting to the Stadium
For those travelling independently and who do not have coach transfers to the stadium from their hotel laid on, the recommended means of travel to the stadium is by the Metro system, which was described to us by the Moscow police as “safe, secure and also beautiful”.
The nearest station for the ground is called “Sportivnaya” and is on the red line, number 1. The stadium lies to the south-west of the city centre and is located in the Olympic park, along with various other stadia and sporting venues developed unsurprisingly for the Olympic games in 1980. The ground itself is therefore still a good walk from the Metro station, so allow 15 minutes to reach it from Sportivnaya Metro. We’re assured that the route from the Metro station to the ground will be adequately and legibly signed.
A tip about the Metro system: the signage is all virtually exclusively in Cyrillic script, which can be confusing and even intimidating to those of us unable to read it. It’s worth therefore trying to get your head round the Russian alphabet before you go – there’s a guide to it by following the 'Useful Phrases' link on the right hand side.
