OREANDA-NEWS. January 22, 2013. The Bank of Moscow has opened a 3-year, 2 billion rouble credit facility for OAO Olympic Complex Luzhniki.

The purpose of the loan is to finance work connected with the Complex’s current projects.

The Luzhniki Olympic Complex is the biggest sports and entertainment complex not only in Russia but anywhere in Europe. Located in the Moscow Khamovniki District (Central Administrative Area), it was opened on 31 July 1956. At that time, it included a Big Sports Area, Small Sports Arena, Palace of Sports, a swimming pool and several open-air sports areas. Luzhniki now covers over 180 ha., accommodating 8 ordinary football and 10 mini-football pitches, 4 foot-halls, 36 tennis courts, three field-and-track complexes, cafйs, restaurants, a hotel, a medical centre with a sports medicine centre, and so on. In addition, Luzhniki is the country’s biggest concert venue, the main sports arena having seating for 78 360.

In 1998, the main structure of the complex — the Big Sports Arena — was included on the UEFA list of five-star European football stadia and, in 2008, it received "elite" UEFA ranking. Today, the Big Sports Arena is Russia’s only "elite" stadium and one of only three in Europe.

The biggest events that Luzhniki has hosted include the 1973 University Games, the 1980 Olympic Games, the 1999 UEFA Cup Final, and the 2008 League of Champions Final, and so on. In 2013, the World Track-and-Field Championship and the World Rugby Cup will be held at Luzhniki, which will also host a football World Cup final in 2018.

After reconstruction, which will last until 2016, Luzhniki will be one of the Top Three most modern and technologically equipped sports complexes in the world.