- published: 21 Jan 2016
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The Grand Sports Arena of the Luzhniki Olympic Complex (Russian: Большая спортивная арена Олимпийского комплекса Лужники) in Moscow, or briefly Luzhniki Stadium (Russian: Стадион "Лужники"), is the biggest sports stadium in Russia. Its total seating capacity is 78,360 seats, all covered. The stadium is a part of the Luzhniki Olympic Complex, previously called the Central Lenin Stadium (Russian: Центральный стадион имени В. И. Ленина). The name Luzhniki derives from the flood meadows in the bend of Moskva River where the stadium was built, translating roughly as "The Meadows". The stadium is located in Khamovniki District of the Central Administrative Okrug of Moscow-city. As part of the Olympic complex Luzhniki also have the Palace of Sport at Luzhniki.
Its field is used mainly for football games by Torpedo Moscow club, who also own the sports complex, and Spartak Moscow. It is also one of the few major European stadia to use an artificial pitch, as it installed a FIFA-approved FieldTurf pitch in 2002. The pitch is necessary for the cold Russian climate, as regular grass pitches are often destroyed during a typical winter and must be replaced at high cost. However, a temporary natural grass pitch was installed for the 2008 Champions League Final [1].