On September 12th, in Grozny, the capital of the Chechen Republic, a new volleyball and sports complex opened that the federation hopes “will be a new impetus for development.”
The complex is an 8,500 square meter (90,000+ square feet) sporting facility named after 7’7″ Chechen basketball player Uvays Akhtaev. VK Grozny, the local professional side, opened their play at their new arena on September 23rd and 24th against MSTU – an opening that came in the form of two losses. The team has lost all 6 of its matches this season, picking up just a single point to sit 10th out of 12 teams in the league table. The side was in the Russian Superleague from 2012-2015, but has since fallen to the second-tier “Major League A”.
The new arena holds 5,000 spectators, which puts it on par with the SuperLeague arenas – the 4-time defending Russian and 3-time defending European champions Zenit Kazan play in the 4,570 seat Kazan Volleyball Centre, while perennial runners-up Dinamo Moscow play in the 5,000 seat Dynamo Sports Palace.
Though primarily designated for volleyball, the arena will also host competitions in basketball, boxing, wrestling, and judo and is expected to host national an international competitions. It is built next door to the Akhtaev stadium, the city’s central soccer stadium, and the 5-star Kanvas hotel.
http://www.imgrum.org/user/kadyrov_95eng/2781699616
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