FIFA World Cup 2018: Russia's stadiums rated, from the beautiful to the butt-ugly
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It's a little-known fact that football fans are among the smartest people on the planet.
Not only can they count themselves as masters of the intricacies of the world game, but also as economists and accountants (when it comes to transfers and a club's back office), fashionistas (when that new kit is announced) and, of course, architects.
A truly beautiful football stadium is among the best things this planet has to offer, and a World Cup gives a host country the opportunity to create something truly special — or, often, something truly rank.
Russia 2018 has offered up a bit of both. These are the definitive rankings of this year's World Cup stadiums.
Saint Petersburg Stadium, St Petersburg — 8/10
It was one of the many stadiums that was an absolute debacle to put together, but rest assured this thing is absolutely unbelievable.
Imagine someone took your standard-issue UFO and fused it with elements of the car Homer Simpson designed, took it to the banks of the Neva River and then placed it on an elevated pedestal like some sort of living monument to outrageous stadium architecture.
Inside, you've got four steep, vertical stands and seats coloured with Zenit's shade of blue. This whole thing is just the right kind of ridiculous.
Ekaterinburg Arena, Ekaterinburg — 5/10
You've probably seen photos of this one floating around already — this is the ground with the weird temporary stands whacked outside the stadium.
The exterior shots of those stands could hardly look any stupider, but unless you're sitting at the very top of it, from the inside you can't really tell they are there. Mostly because the whole interior of this place is awfully meh, only just sneaking in to the minimum capacity of 35,000 thanks to the Darryl Kerrigan extensions at either end.
On the plus side, from the outside it looks like a crazy disco cake tin when lit up, and that's worth an extra point or two. Overall though, a bit of a stinker.
Kaliningrad Stadium, Kaliningrad — 6/10
Looks like a stack of papers from the outside. Looks like your generic concrete bowl from the inside.
Maybe that's a bit harsh, because there really is nothing wrong with this stadium. But the only thing really unique about it is the location — right on the bank of the Staraya Pregolya River.
It's just a bit underwhelming really, and that's reflected in the fact it is only really hosting one game of note in England v Belgium.
Kazan Arena, Kazan (Australia v France) — 8/10
Now we're talking. This thing of beauty not only resembles an upside-down sombrero, but a giant slab of its exterior is a massive HD screen, apparently the biggest outdoor one of its kind in the world.
Inside, it's a compact, all-energy beast of a ground. It was designed by the same people behind the Emirates and Wembley in London, but this has a proximity to the pitch and sort of auto-atmosphere those larger grounds don't.
Socceroos fans have lucked out here, this is up there with the very best on offer at this World Cup.
Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, Nizhny Novgorod — 9/10
This stadium, man. Just look at it.
The pillars give it a classic Roman touch, the kaleidoscope pattern on the roof modernises it in the most trippy way possible, and the round, suspended ceiling operates as a halo over the pitch.
Even the blue-and-white-patterned seats in the stands are absolutely gorgeous. And a semi-transparent facade? Get the hell out of here.
Mordovia Arena, Saransk — 6/10
What you've got here is your classic non-brand Allianz Arena knock-off that isn't quite as cool as it might have sounded on paper.
The red and orange facade is just about nifty enough for it to get a pass mark — though it is not known for sure why the painters walked off the job halfway through — but no points for originality here.
Interior is a bit of a snooze too. This is the Jordan Henderson of World Cup stadiums — it's not bad, it's just not as good as it thinks it is.
Samara Arena, Samara (Australia v Denmark) — 7/10
There's a lot going on here, but when it's fully completed and lit up for the night matches, this could look pretty special.
It's supposed to look like a spaceship because Samara is famous for its space station, but once you see it as a giant eyeball (or worse …) it's hard to picture it as anything else.
The devil will be in the final detail, lest Australia and Denmark play their group game in a huge anus stadium.
Volgograd Stadium, Volgograd — 7/10
Yeah, it's beautiful. But it's kind of an obvious sort of beauty.
The expanding web that makes up the facade is awesome, especially when reflected off the Volga River, and the blue and white roof is nice too.
But it just feels like a not-quite-as-amazing version of the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, and when you throw in a pretty standard bowl interior, it's just empty flash. And we've come to expect substance with our style.
Fisht Stadium, Sochi (Australia v Peru) — 4/10
What is this? Stop it.
Looks like one of those cyclists' helmets from the outside, and a smaller version of Sydney's Olympic stadium on the inside.
More often than not, weird does not equal good. Full marks for trying something different, but it doesn't really come off.
Rostov Arena, Rostov-On-Don — 5/10
Booooooooring. You can't just take the first stadium out of the catalogue, whack a light show onto it and expect our jaws to drop.
If you manage to not get sucked in by the pretty lights, it's almost annoying how dull this stadium is, both inside and out. There's nothing particularly grotesque about it, but pyro aside its main selling point is this roof, which isn't even as cool as the third-best stadium in Melbourne.
What a waste.
Spartak Stadium, Moscow — 6/10
Dear me, and you thought Mordovia Arena was a rip off of Munich's Allianz Arena. This thing is a straight photocopy.
The interior very much resembles an English-style stadium, and its compact nature is good for atmosphere, especially under the lights.
Objectively, it's a good stadium. I'm just kinda over everybody ripping off Bayern's ground, you know?
Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow — 9/10
This is it. The grand daddy of Russia's World Cup stadiums, the big bopper that will host the tournament opener and the final.
And unlike every other stadium at this tournament, it has a weight of history behind it — something much more important than modern design or flashy new-age trappings.
It's massive, the stands now come right to the edge of the pitch, and it just feels like a proper old European football stadium. There are nicer looking grounds at this World Cup, but there may not be any better ones.
Topics: soccer-world-cup, soccer, sport, russian-federation
