Luzhniki Stadium: History and Key Facts

The Grand Sports Arena of the Luzhniki Olympic Complex, commonly known as

Luzhniki Stadium and formerly, Lenin Stadium, is the national stadium of Russia, located in its capital city, Moscow. Its total seating capacity of 81,000 makes it the largest football stadium in Russia and the sixth-largest stadium in Europe. The stadium is a part of the Luzhniki Olympic Complex, and is located in Khamovniki District of the Central Administrative Okrug of Moscow city. 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 at Luzhniki Street, 24, Moscow.

Luzhniki was the main stadium of the 1980 Olympic Games, hosting the opening and closing ceremonies, as well as some of the competitions, including the athletics and final of the football tournament. A UEFA Category 4 stadium, Luzhniki hosted the UEFA Cup final in 1999 and UEFA Champions League final in 2008. The stadium also hosted such events as Summer Universiade, Goodwill Games and World Athletics Championships. It was the main stadium of the 2018 FIFA World Cup and hosted seven matches of the tournament, including the opening match and the final.

In the past, its field has been used as the home ground for many years of football rivals Spartak Moscow and CSKA Moscow. It is currently used for some matches of the Russia national football team, as well as being used for various other sporting events and for concerts. Luzhniki Stadium was used as one of Torpedo Moscow's temporary home grounds from 2022 to 2024 during maintenance to Torpedo's home ground.

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