Zenit and the St. Petersburg local government have signed an agreement for the leasehold of the city’s new stadium

The signing of the contract took place on 15 February in Sochi as part of the Russian Investment Forum. City Governor Georgy Poltavchenko and chairman of the board of directors Alexander Dyukov completed the deal.

The leasehold agreement is for 49 years and includes concessions for the alterations, maintenance and operation of the entire complex on Krestovsky Ostrov. This covers an area of 288,000 square meters.

Stadium St. Petersburg was built under the supervision of Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa on the site of the former Kirov stadium. The first official match was played there in April 2017.

In the summer of 2017, Stadium St. Petersburg hosted four matches in the Confederations Cup and became the most attended arena of the tournament and in the first half of the 2017/28 season. The arena has consolidated its position as the top club stadium in Russia with eight the matches played on Krestovsky Ostrov listed in the top 10 of the most attended games in the Russian Football Premier League.

Zenit have also been one of the most watched clubs in Europe. The new stadium has had an average attendance of 44,578 in all competitions and puts Zenit in 32nd place on the continent, ahead of Porto, Chelsea, Lyon, Galatasaray, Juventus and Roma.