Description
Arsenal Stadium in Tula is the home stadium of the local football club Arsenal, with a capacity of 20,048 people. It opened in the late 50s of the twentieth century under the name “Tula Luzhniki”. In subsequent years it was called “Trud” and “Stadium named after the fiftieth anniversary of the Lenin Komsomol”. The stadium houses the oldest track in Russia. The best cyclists of the Soviet era from all over the world shone on it: world and Olympic champions Frenchmen Trantin and Morelon, German Geschke, Danish Fredbor.
In the late 1990s, the stadium was completely renovated to meet UEFA requirements. Among the updates to the stadium: a new color television board, a new lawn, heating and automatic watering systems, new lighting masts and floodlights, old wooden benches were replaced with plastic chairs.
In addition, a canopy was added over the northern stand, and all stands, except the south, were more protected from precipitation. The rooms under the stands have also changed. The changing rooms were finished to European standards. On May 19, 1999, the Russian national team played here for the first time in a friendly match against the Belarusian national team, although it was not entirely successful - the match ended with a score of 1:1.
On the East Stand there is a press box and commentary booths, on the opposite West Stand there is a VIP box for 700 guests. Since the stadium is old and has a Soviet appearance in many details, the VIP box at Arsenal differs from regular seats only in color and a decent distance between the seats. But the chairs on it are still plastic. In the VIP box there is a buffet hall, where there is a counter with a storage cabinet, as well as additional glass tabletops for fruit. Along the walls of this room there are counters for eating during the break of the match.