The Open International Competition for the Development of a Master Plan for the Territory Adjacent to the Samara Arena (total area: 360 hectares) was announced on 26 February at the TASS information agency (the major Russian news agency) in Moscow.

This is one of the first projects aimed at converting the sports venues that were built especially for the FIFA World Cup 2018 into hubs for urban development and community, business, and cultural life. The Samara Arena stadium was built especially for the FIFA World Cup that was hosted by Russia in 2018 UEFA rated it as a Category Four stadium, which is the highest possible category. The territory adjacent to the Samara Arena lies within the city limits and covers 360 hectares. To better envisage the territory’s size, consider this: it can fit over five hundred football pitches.

The competition is part of the comprehensive work that began in the region back in 2019 The work has included an analytical study and a professional competition in architecture and urban planning. The project was initiated by the Samara Region Development Corporation and is supported by the government of the Samara Region and the Samara Urban District Administration. The Agency for Strategic Development “CENTER” was chosen as the operator for the study and the competition procedure.

The efficient use of the World Cup infrastructure has become a vital mission for the regions that had the honor of hosting it. The Samara Region was among the first in Russia to attempt the integration of such a major sports venue into the cityscape through the rational development of the adjacent territory. If applied successfully, the region’s solutions may be extended to other parts of the country.

As part of the comprehensive efforts related to the competition and the use of FIFA World Cup 2018 facilities, experts from the Agency for Strategic Development “CENTER” conducted an analytical study that helped them to evaluate the post-World Cup potential of the area around the stadium. The results of the study will soon be made public and will be freely accessible via the competition’s official website.

The competition will have two stages and will conclude on June 18. Application submissions are ongoing until March 20 on the official website of the competition samarena.life/en. At the end of the first stage, the judges will have to name three finalists, who will then proceed to work on comprehensive territorial development concepts, making them as impactful and cost-effective as possible. The competition is open to Russian and foreign professional organizations that specialize in architecture, project design, the creation of concepts for the development of public spaces, commercial and residential real estate, master planning, economics, finance, and content design.

To take part in the competition, it is necessary to fill out an application on the official competition website www.samarena.life/en and provide a portfolio of completed projects demonstrating relevant experience, along with an essay with a description of the key ideas that will lay the groundwork for the future master plan. The judges will review the application contents and select three finalists.

The total prize fund for the competition is 14,400,000 rubles. All teams that make it to the final stage will receive 2,400,000 rubles (including tax) each. And after the judges cast their final vote and the three places are ranked, the teams will receive additional prizes as follows: 3,600,000 rubles for the winner; 2,400,000 rubles for second place; and 1,200,000 rubles for third place.