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.
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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.
