UrBC, Yekaterinburg, October 2, 2017. Yekaterinburg Arena Stadium’s historic facades, protected by the law as the last century’s cultural heritage, are almost completely restored in time for the World Cup 2018; Sinara Group’s Sinara Development is acting as the general contractor for the renovation project, the Group’s press service reports.

The restoration work involved the old cash desks and the facades outside. Additionally, a number of interior elements (bas-reliefs, vases, chandeliers, and a banner-shaped sculpture at the main entrance) were renovated in accordance with the original drawings from the fifties. Also, the sculptures of two footballers were reinstalled next to the cash desks in the western and eastern sectors of the stadium. The inside surface of the walls will also get some decorative tiling.

Sinara Development kept working on the football pitch throughout September as well. The final stage involved sewing the grass lawn through with synthetic fibers in order to improve the natural pitch’s performance characteristics. The fibers were put in place and fixed there with the help of a special computer-operated machine, with every 2 cm2 getting sawn through. This helps reduce slippage during the games and thus also brings down the risk of injuries.

There is a smart sprinkling system that checks the dryness of the pitch automatically and distributes the water from the pumping station through automatic-valve sprinklers stationed across the entire pitch. A special controller unit is in charge of adjusting the valve performance.