VEB Arena

The VEB Arena stands apart from the city’s other grounds because of the tower that rises from its centre. That glass structure, part of a wider complex, looms over the pitch and gives the place its silhouette. It is not just a roofline that defines the stadium; it is a vertical anchor that the surrounding skyline does not match.

The roof is fixed, covering every seat, which changes how the place feels on a grey day in Moscow. The pitch itself is natural grass, reinforced with synthetic fibres, a detail that keeps the surface playable through the winter.

The stadium opened in 2016 as the Arena CSKA before the naming rights were sold to the state bank, becoming the VEB Arena. During European matches, the club uses the original name because of regulations. The first official game was a league match against Terek Grozny, but the place was quickly remembered for a European afternoon against Arsenal London.

Music festivals have also taken place on this ground. A summer event with System of a Down and another with Splean showed that the acoustics work just as well for concerts as they do for football. The Golden Tower hotel sits beside the arena, and the parking lot holds over a thousand cars, though most visitors arrive by public transport.

The ground is located in the Khoroshyovo District, near the old CSKA Stadium that was demolished to make way for this new build.