Ak Bars Arena

Ak Bars Arena is a football stadium in Kazan’s Novo-Savinovsky District, on the right bank of the Kazanka River, with a capacity of 45,379 spectators. It is the home ground of the football club Rubin and one of the largest stadiums in the country, classified by UEFA as a top-tier, Category Four venue. Besides football matches, the arena hosts major sporting tournaments, concerts, and city festivals, remaining a multifunctional public space.

The decision to build the stadium was made under the federal programme for the development of physical culture and sport, prompted by Kazan’s preparations for the XXVII Summer Universiade of 2013. On 5 May 2010 a symbolic foundation stone was laid for the future stadium, with Russia’s prime minister and the president of Tatarstan taking part in the ceremony. Construction was completed in under three years, and by the spring of 2013 the new arena was opened for use. Six years later, in November 2019, the stadium was given its current name, Ak Bars Arena, in honour of its general partner — the bank of the same name.

The architectural concept for the structure, shaped like a water lily flower, was developed by the American firm Populous, which had earlier designed London’s Wembley and Emirates stadiums. The building’s main engineering feature is its translucent cantilevered roof with spans of up to 120 metres, supported by just eight columns, with a metal framework weighing 12,000 tonnes. The façade carries an LED screen covering 3,700 square metres — the largest such display in Europe at the time of installation, visible from a distance of two to three kilometres. The playing field covers 9,000 square metres, with standard dimensions of 105 by 68 metres.

The stadium hosted the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2013 Universiade, and in 2015 it became the venue for events of the FINA World Aquatics Championships: two temporary fifty-metre pools were installed on the football pitch, making the arena the only football stadium in the world where 12 world records in swimming have been set. In 2017 Ak Bars Arena hosted four matches of the FIFA Confederations Cup, and in the summer of 2018, six matches of the FIFA World Cup, including games featuring the Russian national team.

Today the stadium hosts more than a hundred events of various formats every year, with a combined attendance of around a million people — football matches, festivals, shows, and concerts. Guests can enjoy restaurants overlooking the pitch, skyboxes, and a well-developed public transport network, including a dedicated tram route. Beyond its sporting function, the arena also serves as one of the vantage points over the new neighbourhoods on the banks of the Kazanka.

Ak Bars Arena has become for Kazan not only a sporting venue but also a symbol of the era of major international events of the early 2010s — the Universiade, the FIFA World Cup, and the world swimming championships. Its bold engineering solutions and striking silhouette have made the stadium one of the architectural landmarks of the Kazanka’s right bank and a recognisable city icon on a par with the historic monuments of the Kremlin.