Sergei Sobyanin on how Olimpiyskiy Sports Complex to change after reconstruction

A real city of sports, culture, entertainment and a healthy lifestyle is to come up on Olimpiyskiy Prospekt after the reconstruction of the Olimpiyskiy Sports Complex, as announced by Sergei Sobyanin during an inspecting tour to the reconstruction site.

“A sports legend, the Olimpiyskiy Sports Complex, had unfortunately fallen into disrepair over the years and needed reconstruction. We decided to renovate it with private investment, rather than with budget money. Today, it is experiencing its second renaissance. It will be one of the world’s largest multifunctional complexes including sports, entertainment and cultural functions. There is still a lot to be done, but upon completion, I think it will be one of the most unique and attractive centers for Muscovites and guests of the capital,” said Moscow Mayor.

The past and future of the sports complex

The Olimpiyskiy Sports Complex was built before the 1980 Olympic Games. A state-of-the-art facility, at that time it accommodated up to 35,000 spectators and consisted of two sports areas — an indoor arena and a multiple-pool swimming center.

For decades, it has hosted training sessions of about 20 Russian national teams and has been a venue for competitions in 22 Olympic sports, such as boxing, basketball, artistic and rhythmic gymnastics, volleyball, ice and ball hockey, karate, taekwondo, badminton, athletics, biathlon, and swimming. The sports complex was a popular music venue, too.

It had been Europe’s largest facility of its kind for almost 40 years, until the opening of the Paris La Défense Arena. However, as it was operated, the structures were growingly deteriorated and by the mid-2010 s it no longer met modern quality and safety standards for sports, concert and entertainment infrastructure. In this regard, Sergei Sobyanin decided to run a comprehensive reconstruction of the building while maintaining and expanding its historical functions, which began in 2019. The work was financed from extrabudgetary funds.

The architectural concept of the renovated Olimpiyskiy Sports Complex combines the innovative spirit and dynamism of present-day city life, with the creation of a unique and pleasing urban environment. The reconstruction project was developed using BIM technology. Engineers created 3D models, taking into account the bearing lines, used materials, climate and other important things.

According to the project, the renovated Olimpiyskiy Multi-Purpose Complex with a total area of more than 850,000 square meters will include four facilities, such as the arena, the watersports complex, the wellness & recreation complex, and the small concert hall.

The 567,900 m² arena will be the main building to preserve its historical architectural features and expand its functional value. There will also be a large concert hall for 12,000 people, which will carry on the traditions of the Olimpiyskiy as one of Moscow’s central concert venues. In addition, the arena will house a cinema cluster with eight modern halls, which will combine cinema and other forms of visual art. On top of this, there will be a promenade area (Olimpiyskiy Boulevard) and a 1 km indoor running track with a panoramic view at an altitude of 210 meters above sea level, which will connect the arena with the watersports complex. A 72 m escalator will lead to the concert hall to be arranged at a height of 41 meters. In addition, 38 panoramic restaurants with picturesque views of Moscow will be opened for visitors, which will make a full circle around Olimpiyskiy Boulevard in one hour. The arena’s ground floor’s mezzanine will house the Golden Gallery, a unique retail space with an exclusive collection of jewelry from Russia’s major manufacturers and individual jewelry makers.

The 243,500 m² watersports complex will be a real spa resort right in the heart of the capital. It will house 15 pools, including wellness, children’s, 25-meter and 50-meter pools. Its swimming and jumping pools with 4,000 seat stands will fully comply with the World Aquatics rules and regulations. So the complex will be able to host local, national and also international competitions in water sports.

In addition, it will have a water amusement family-friendly park with the unique water rides, a surfing center, thermal baths and an infinity pool, plus recreation areas and food courts. It will also house multifunctional sports facilities, including for trampolining, dancing, dry-land swimming, martial arts, fencing, table tennis, practicing golf simulators, streetball, beach volleyball and beach football grounds, a gym, and a fitness center.

The 39,300 m² wellness & recreation complex will be a trendy multi-sport space for everyone to engage in their favorite types of physical activity at any time of the year. The building will house an ice field for hockey and figure skating, three tennis courts, two badminton courts, rooms for dancing, and artistic/rhythmic gymnastics. There will also be a curling club, a martial arts center, seven squash four-walled courts, two padel areas, a yoga and meditation classroom, a gym and a multi-purpose hall for playing volleyball, handball or basketball, in addition to a multipurpose sports hall for mini-football, sports dances, etc.

The small concert hall for 2,000 seats will host concerts and water shows and will also be a very good venue for business events.

As before, the complex will combine all key areas of the city life, such as sports, wellness, music, culture, family leisure, entertainments, shopping, and high-quality services.

Olimpiyskiy guests will be able to practice more than 30 sports, including football, volleyball, tennis, etc., swim or relax by the water, watch movies, take a walk, and go out to a restaurant or a shopping gallery. The renovated sports complex is expected to welcome approx. 62 million visitors every year, to provide parking for 3,500 cars and create more than 8,000 jobs.

The renovated Olimpiyskiy will be 80 meters high and will occupy 15 floors above ground with three to four underground levels.

The arena, the watersports complex and the wellness & recreation complex will be connected with a plinth and seamless connectivity arrangements for visitors to move between them without going outside. In addition, the arena and the watersports complex will be combined into an architectural whole with a panoramic running track and a media art roof bridge, all together making up the infinity symbol. The surrounding running track embodies movement as a source of continuous development and unity of the two main components, i.e., culture and sports.

To shape the unique façade, the developer has arranged an in-house high-tech production facility at Olimpiyskiy — a special robotized workshop manufacturing needed internal and external components of high energy efficiency, which are capable of significantly reducing the carbon footprint. Using a specially designed set of equipment, they also produce unique ventilation elements.

At present, builders are rounding off in-situ concrete works at the arena and the wellness & recreation complex, arranging the interior side of the arena’s façade and installing underground engineering systems. The in-situ concrete works are also underway at the watersports complex, together with installation of steel trusses to cover the concert hall. The Olimpiyskiy Sports Complex is 40 per cent ready to date. The project is expected to be completed in 2025.

As a result of the reconstruction, Olimpiyskiy will turn into one of the best state-of-the-art, technologically advanced multifunctional facility not only in Russia, but throughout Europe and will once again become a large venue for multiple events and a hot spot for Moscow residents and visitors.