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Nuotr.: Valery Sharifulin / TASS-Scanpix
Nuotr. Valery Sharifulin / TASS-Scanpix
CSKA Moscow will no longer have their usual homes this summer: a sports complex named after Alexander Gomelski will be demolished in June. In it, the CSKA basketball team plays home games in the VTB United League.
Moscow CSKA / Schedule
Sport-Express.ru informs that a new sports complex with two basketball fields, a swimming pool and a medical center will be built on the site of the building, which was inaugurated in 1979. We remind you that CSKA Euroleague home games are played in the MegaSport stadium, which is located near the Gomelski sports complex.
The new building is expected to emerge in late 2022 and the project will receive $ 5.5 billion. rubles (about 61.3 million euros).
However, CSKA president Andrei Vatutin said that this will pose significant challenges for the club, and among the options being considered is even the possible relocation of the basketball team to another city.
Here are excerpts from Sports-Express.ru’s interview with Vatutin.
– There have been reports in the media that several buildings belonging to the CSKA team will be demolished in the near future. It is true?
– I know from the media that seven CSKA arenas will be demolished at the same time, where tennis, martial arts, gymnastics, hockey, basketball and swimming competitions are held. It is planned to build a common space for all these sports.
So even if we have spectators, the number will be very small, because the main goal is to group all sports under one roof.
The CSKA basketball team has been playing here for almost 30 years under a lease, the rate of which we always pay. The building itself belongs to the Minister of National Defense, and at the end of December we learned of the termination of the lease, which will take effect in 6 months. For us, it was like thunder from the clear sky. We received a New Year’s gift.
The fact is that in June the CSKA basketball team will be on the street. So there is a possibility that the team may not even be able to finish this season. The problem is not that we have nowhere to play. Of course, we will find a room that will meet VTB and Euroleague standards, but the main question is, where will we have to train? We have a core team and two youth teams.
In addition, we will lose the medical center, the offices, the museum, the warehouses, the paraphernalia stores, the entire infrastructure of the club. The club with the most titles in the country and the great European will have no home.
There has been talk of possible changes for a long time, but everything was on the level of the language. However, this decision was made very quickly and we felt we were stabbed in the back.
– Was it really not possible to calculate the whole situation ahead or postpone the demolition of the complex itself?
– This decision has not been discussed with us. We were only informed when all permits were obtained and signatures were placed.
– Still, this complex is over 40 years old and probably not up to the level of such a club?
– We are aware that the sand is old, but at the same time it could still stand for at least a year. She is still loved by fans. As far as I know, a new sports complex will be built where children can train. And everything is great. In the past, The Forum in Los Angeles and the Garden Arena in Boston were demolished, and Wembley Stadium in London was restored. Naturally, sports stadiums must meet the requirements of modern times, not just be architectural monuments.
In all these cases, however, the legendary clubs already knew where to play after that. The Minister treats us as unexpected guests. The club has achieved many excellent results over the years and the executives have invested heavily in modernizing the Gomelsky complex in recent years.
We renovated the basketball field, training facilities, offices, established a museum, and outfitted locker rooms and a medical center that meets NBA standards. No one can guarantee that it will move to a new building. All the money and effort invested in the minister’s decision will be buried under the ruins of the complex.
ITAR-TASS Photo – Scanpix
We now face a much more difficult task than winning the Euroleague. We will have to quickly find a temporary arena for the club and its three teams and find solid funding for a new arena or club base.
Barcelona has been feeding the Euroleague for 10 years with promises to move to a new arena, but no one is forcing them out of the obsolete arena of the Palau Blaugrana. In our opinion, the decision to demolish the complex should have been announced at least two years before the start of the works.
– What possible solutions to the problem are you considering?
– We have a number of options, including the possible transfer of the club to another city. I think he is very aware of how much it costs to build a new arena in Moscow. You need to find land, coordinate projects. Even for a company like Norilsk’s Nickel, it’s a lot of money.
Everything is going in such a direction that the club and the city could suffer serious reputational damage. Of course, the Nickel administration is ready to help with all its might and we will try to come out of this situation with our heads held high.
Probably the best solution would be to move to the MegaSport stadium, but it will not be possible to do so this summer, as other events are already planned there, as well as there are no training rooms.
We are also thinking of building 2-3 buildings and new offices, but like I said, it would all take at least two years. We will also need the support of the city of Moscow. I am convinced that the mayor’s office, unlike the minister, understands that leaving such a club without a home is wrong. CSKA remains the flagship of Russian sports and the country’s national treasure and symbol.
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