Kazan Arena nominated to Stadium of the Year award

The new stadium in Kazan is running in the latest edition of Stadium of the Year, world's largest public vote of its kind. 18 stadiums opened in 2013 are on the list and Kazan Arena is the first ever nominee from Russia.

It's the first stadium ready for 2018 World Cup and has already hosted opening and closing of Universiade 2013. Soon it will also see the swimming championships of 2015. Now Kazan Arena is listed among 17 other stadiums opened in 2013 around the world, from Chile to China. All of them compete to becoming Stadium of the Year 2013.

“This stadium is a showcase of new Russian football. Soon a big wave of other arenas will join it, changing the image of Premier Liga completely. But already now, even before first ever game by Rubin, the stadium with giant screen integrated into its facade puts Tatarstan and Russia among football's most attractive locations”, says Michal Karas, editor-in-chief of StadiumDB.com, competition organiser.

Stadium of the Year is the world's largest open vote of its kind and includes all major modern stadiums that were either built or completely redeveloped within the last 12 months. Every person with internet access may take part in the nomination and voting process through a special platform. This year's vote lasts until February 22 and each user can take part only once.

This is the 4th edition of Stadium of the Year. Last year the vote enjoyed a record popularity, with over 14,000 stadium enthusiasts from all continents selecting Arena do Grêmio (Brazil) as the best newly opened stadium. Previous winners also include PGE Arena Gdansk (Poland) and Aviva Stadium in Dublin (Ireland).