Andrey Fedun: «We apply great efforts to create comfortable conditions for the fans»

CEO of the «Spartak» stadium Andrey Arnoldovich Fedun gave an interview to the official web-site.

- Andrey Arnoldovich, at the end of September it was announced that stadium «Spartak» would host World Cup football matches. How did you meet this decision?
- I’m undoubtedly very glad. Our team has done really great and amazing work so that our stadium could host World Cup football matches. We have a lot of tasks to carry out in the future – we should 100 per cent meet FIFA requirements and recommendations as to its preparation and hosting. As of today we we’ve received FIFA’s confirmation that our project fully satisfies all the requirements, and now our task is to put it into practice.

- Please comment on the process of stadium construction. What are your goals for the near future?
- The construction is proceeding according to plan. Preparation to assembling of steel structures of the stadium roof is well under way – and this is more than 8,5 thousand tons to be arranged and installed at a height of more than 30 meters.

- Will the constructors manage to erect all concrete structures before the end of the year and enter upon constructing the stadium roof?
- We plan to finish major part of work on concrete structures before the end of this year, as well as to begin erecting of temporary support's structures for the stadium roof.

- When do you plan to get down to erecting of multi-functional arena?
- Now we are at the stage of detailed design, and as soon as we have the design ready we’ll get down to work immediately.

- In your opinion what makes this stadium special?
- First of all, FC «Spartak» and its fans will finally have their own stadium. Another important aspect is that our strategy implies that the stadium will operate throughout a long period in terms of its different services provided and its workability. To implement it in practice we collaborate with companies – world leaders in their industries and we plan to use recent technology solutions in the stadium infrastructure.

- What services do you plan for the fans?
- We apply great efforts to create comfortable conditions for the fans and all visitors of the stadium. In particular, due to cashless payment system we can faster service fans at catering and merchandise points. We’ve already signed a contract with a catering company, so we’ll offer visitors of the stadium high quality and diversified menu. Another aspect we’re actively working at is the period of time needed to let people get in and out of the stadium. At the moment estimation time for people to leave the stadium is 9 minutes. I cannot reveal all nuances right now, as many projects are at a concept stage now. I can also note that we thoroughly study experience of other stadia, meet their management, our specialists take part in specialized conferences. We are also a member of European Stadium Association ESSMA, which lets us exchange information and experience with our colleagues in terms of security, ticketing and other important issues.

- Do you have return of investments as one of your goals?
- Of course this is the task that faces us. The stadium should at least be self-sufficient and cover its operating and maintenance costs. It is very important to create the right management structure so that the stadium could bring profits. We have clear understanding of how we can achieve it, we also have a certain commercial strategy, which we’re incorporating step by step.

- What will «Spartak» fans find at the official web-site of the stadium?
- When preparing and working out this project we had two main goals – to keep people informed and organize proper communication. That’s why this web-site was created. Apart from the web-site we’ll pay due attention to social networks, where we plan to organize a very active intercommunication with «Spartak» fans. I invite all our fans to visit our web-site and to join our community in social networks, your opinion and feedback are very important for us!