'We're ready to turn our stadium into a hospital': Director of Russian club Zenit offers coronavirus aid
The general director of Russian football giants Zenit St. Petersburg, Alexander Medvedev, has said the club’s Gazprom Arena home could be converted into a hospital to help battle Covid-19 in the city.
The football official stressed that the venue could be easily turned into a temporary hospital for infected patients, the number of which has been steadily growing in St Petersburg.
The stadium has a retractable roof which helps to keep heat inside at any time of the year.
"Gazprom Arena differs from other stadiums because it has a roof,” Medvedev said.
“So the temperature inside the venue is always above zero. I really hope there will be no need for such measures, but the stadium could be turned into a hospital if necessary.
"But so far, local authorities haven’t asked us to do that.”
In March, all Russian Premier League matches were postponed due to the spread of the Covid-19, which has put on hold virtually all major sporting events across the globe.
The stadium, which is located on Krestovsky Island in St. Petersburg, has a capacity of 67,000.
It opened in April 2017 and has hosted matches at the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup and the Russia 2018 FIFA World Cup.
