Crowds rarely exceed a few thousand spectators.
With Russia’s economy hampered by relatively low crude oil prices and Western sanctions, maintenance of the new arenas is expected to be problematic.
“The stadiums are supposed to be handed to local authorities and then privatized if there’s a request for it from local clubs,” Kulakov said.
Depending on the venue, the upkeep costs 200 million rubles a year and will likely get more costly.
Currently the property of the federal government, the arenas are expected to become responsibility of regional authorities from June.
“Some of the stadiums were built where there are no representatives of the Premier League and I know that additional work is ongoing because they were built in a rush,” Kulakov said. “People did not think what would happen after the World Cup.”
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