Will CSKA leave the city of Moscow? Club president Andrei Vatutin said today (Tuesday) that the club is considering moving to another city due to the Russian Defense Ministry’s decision to demolish the team’s home hall (Alexander Gomelsky Sports Hall) by June to build a new sports complex.
“We are considering all sorts of options, including leaving Moscow and moving to another city,” Vatotin told Sport Express. At the moment, it is going in the direction that the city and the club may suffer a serious damage to reputation. ” “Vatutin added: The decision of the Ministry of Defense to demolish the current hall as a matter of urgency is an injury to the club’s life and its consequences.”
The Gomelsky Sports Hall was established in 1979, and since then it has served as CSKA’s home hall. Construction of the new complex is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2022, forcing CSKA to look for a new home by then. One option is to host all the games at the Mega-Sports Arena, the larger hall where CSKA hosts the Euroleague.
“Probably the best solution for us would be a complete transition to mega-sports, but that will not be possible next summer because there are no training halls, and the main hall is rented for various events,” said Vatutin. “In theory, we are considering the possibility of working in two or three different places, in addition to the club offices. But again, it takes at least two years to create such a project, to coordinate, to build it.
“In addition, this will require full support from the authorities in Moscow. I am sure that the mayor’s office, unlike the Ministry of Defense, understands that leaving a club – which is now the flagship of Russian sports – with such a rich history without a roof is, to say the least, wrong. It is a national treasure. “