Irkutsk to Build New Stadium for Baikal-Energia

IRKUTSK, Russia -- One of the grand old stadiums of Russian bandy will be closing its doors soon.

The president of the Irkutsk Region Bandy Federation, Vladimir Matienko, announced at a press conference April 3 that Irkutsk would be building a new stadium to host Baikal-Energia, the newspaper Nasha Sibskana reported.

Trud Stadium, the team's current home, was built in the 1950's and has a capacity of 18,500, making it one of the largest bandy stadiums in the country. The stadium has been in desperate need of renovation for several years. Also home to the city's soccer club, Zvezda, a row erupted with the national soccer federation two years ago over the poor quality of stadium's grandstands, forcing the team to install new plastic seats.

Over the past several seasons, Baikal-Energia has played many of their home games - especially early- and late-season games, when the weather is warmer - at the smaller Rekord Stadium, which has the luxury of an artificially-cooled ice surface. The club routinely sells out Trud, so the move to the 6,300-seat Rekord has left many fans out in the cold on game day.

Matienko did not give any details about the size or design of the new facility, saying only that it will be built on Konny Island in the Angara River. Formerly an undeveloped area of the city's downtown, the completion of a bridge across the river in the area of the island has spurred several development projects, including a large shopping center.

The city government has already set aside the land for the stadium, Matienko added, and the construction will be financed by the regional bandy federation. A name for the facility has yet to be determined.