DS Yubileyny

DS Yubileyny stands in Saint Petersburg as a place where the roof is the first thing you notice. The structure hangs above the arena like a bicycle wheel, a metal ring suspended by cables between inner and outer pylons. It was the first structure in the USSR to feature this cable-supported design, a detail that gives the hall its particular sense of scale.

The ground changes shape depending on the season. In winter the parquet is covered by ice for the hockey matches of HC Dynamo Saint Petersburg, a team that plays in the Supreme Hockey League. When the ice is pulled away, the wooden floor returns for basketball and other court sports. You can see the boards around the rink in photographs, separating the playing surface from the seating, a boundary that defines how the crowd watches the game. The seats themselves are arranged in tiers that curve around the centre.

It opened on 6 November 1967 to mark the 50th anniversary of Soviet power, built quickly in a single year to serve the local trade unions. Over time the capacity has shifted; it held 6,200 people when it first opened, a number that grew as standing room and balcony boxes were added for big matches. The official record crowd came on 20 November 2016 during a derby between Dynamo-St. Petersburg and SKA-Neva, when 9,765 fans packed inside, far beyond the standard limit of 7,012.

It also hosted the Group B games of the 2016 IIHF World Championship, bringing international players to a venue that feels intimate compared to the larger arenas in the city. It is not a football ground, which means you will not find the open sky or the wind going straight through it.