Volga to victory: "Torpedo" won the first KHL match in the new arena

A new large arena has appeared in Russian hockey. On the evening of September 14, "Volga Arena" was officially opened in Nizhny Novgorod, accommodating almost 12.5 thousand spectators. ""Torpedo" defeated "Ak Bars" Kazan 3-2 in the first KHL match at the new stadium.

Sub-sanctioned construction

Over the past four years, this is the fifth large modern hockey arena opened in Russia. In the fall of 2022, the construction of the "G-Drive Arena" in Omsk was completed, accommodating just over 12 thousand spectators. In August 2023, the "Siberia Arena" opened in Novosibirsk with 11,506 seats. Four months later, the "SKA Arena" in St. Petersburg, the largest hockey stadium in the world, with a capacity of 21,542 people, was opened. In March 2025, the "UMMC Arena" was opened in Yekaterinburg for 12,588 spectators.

"Volga Arena" in Nizhny Novgorod also accommodates 12,350 people. Its peculiarity is that construction began in 2022, after the introduction of large—scale economic sanctions. The stadiums listed above began to be built even before them, therefore, their creators encountered difficulties in supplying imported building materials and equipment only at the late stages of project implementation.

At the same time, the history of the Nizhny Novgorod project began long before 2022. The first version of the arena appeared back in 2015, and the fundamental decision on its construction was made in 2019. Initially, the "Humo Arena" project was taken as a basis: the facade of the stadium was supposed to look like the ice palace of the same name in Tashkent, opened in March 2019. However, over the years, the concept has been significantly redesigned, and some of the changes were made directly during construction.

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Work began in 2022, and despite the changing economic conditions, the local authorities decided not to freeze the project. Initially, the arena was planned to be put into operation last year, however, the leadership of the region emphasized that the timing could be adjusted: the priority remained the quality of the facility and the convenience for the audience.

"If they were building according to that project now, the arena would already be obsolete," Maxim Gafurov, General Director of the Center for Sports Management and Development in the Nizhny Novgorod Region, explained to Izvestia. — Therefore, a lot of changes had to be made on the way to construction. And it is very good that the adaptation to the new reality was underway, and that these adjustments were taken into account and approved at all levels of coordination. Many people may object: "You first make a competent project, and then build it." But we remember what events took place in the world in 2022, and how the economy changed. And how, in particular, the conditions for construction in Russia have changed, especially regarding the purchase of imported materials that could not be purchased directly or even had to look for analogues. In addition, logistics has become more complicated. And it's quite possible that we would now have a cool project, but an unfinished stadium. But it's great that we've managed to improve and redo a lot of things along the way. We have often emphasized that there is no deadline for us within the framework of this project — it is more important for us to do it efficiently. And we maintained this approach until the very end.

"Volga Arena" is located in one of the most famous historical sites of Nizhny Novgorod — on Strelka, at the confluence of the Volga and Oka rivers. There is a large football stadium nearby, built for the 2018 World Cup. At the same time, "Strelka" metro station opened nearby, which greatly simplified the way for fans to the matches. Hockey fans can also use it now.

The new arena is a versatile sports complex with artificial ice. Competitions in hockey, sledge hockey, figure skating and other sports can be held here. The complex meets the standards that allow hosting international tournaments.

The governor of the Nizhny Novgorod region, Gleb Nikitin, said that in the future he would like to host the Ice Hockey World Championship there. Vladislav Tretyak, President of the Russian Hockey Federation (RIHF), who participated in the opening ceremony, noted that after the lifting of sanctions against Russian sports, this will become possible. He also did not rule out that in December 2027 the Russian national team will play in Nizhny Novgorod at the Channel One Cup. KHL President Alexei Morozov, in turn, allowed the league's All-Star Game to be held there in the 2027/28 season.

The complex also has two training rinks with bleachers for 250 spectators each. One of them is adapted for sledge hockey: removable boards are installed, extended benches are equipped. During the construction, it was possible to ensure the necessary level of security without fencing the territory with a fence, as is done at many other stadiums. Therefore, the space around the building remains accessible to the citizens.

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The first match

A test match was held at the "Volga Arena" at the beginning of last week. "Chaika" Nizhny Novgorod played against "Irbis" Kazan (3:5) on September 7 in the framework of the regular championship of the Youth Hockey League (MHL). The game was attended by 3.5 thousand spectators, which was the maximum allowed number of visitors that day.

Exactly one week later, the arena hosted the first KHL match. 12,350 sold—out spectators have already come to the stands.

"Torpedo"'s former home arena was the "Nagorny" Sports Palace, which accommodates about 5.5 thousand people. It was built in 1965, and then renovated in 1975 and 2007. "Torpedo" performed there for more than half a century. The palace is located in another part of Nizhny Novgorod, and now the "Chaika" youth team will continue to play there. "Torpedo" CEO Evgeny Zabuga said that there is a very loyal hockey audience in the "Nagorny" area, which should not be left without the opportunity to watch matches near home.

"Nagorny" remained the last KHL arena built in the 20th century. Now the oldest stadium in the league is "Arena 2000", opened in 2001 in Yaroslavl. At one time, it was considered the first arena built according to modern standards.

The doors of the new arena in Nizhny Novgorod opened to the audience on September 14 at 17:00. The match started at 19:35, before it a large-scale show took place, the main event of which was the concert of the singer BEARWOLF.

Major concerts are also planned to be held at the arena in the coming months, but the leadership of the region and the club emphasizes that priority will be given to sports.

As in the MHL test game, Nizhny Novgorod's opponent was a team from Kazan. "Torpedo" faced the current Gagarin Cup finalist "Ak Bars" in the first KHL match at the new arena. The first goal in the history of KHL matches at this stadium was scored by the guests: Dmitry Katelevsky opened the scoring in the second minute.

However, the hosts quickly recouped. In the ninth minute, Daniil Seroukh equalized the score, becoming the first "Torpedo" player to score a goal in the new arena. Four minutes later, Igor Geraskin led the Nizhny Novgorod team ahead.

In the 24th minute, "Torpedo" captain Vladimir Tkachev realized the majority and increased the advantage of his team. With the score 3-1, the opponents went to the second break.

""We are happy that the arena is open, that the Nizhny Novgorod fans have been waiting for this," "Torpedo" striker Pavel Kraskovsky told Izvestia. — It's a great place, with all the conditions for training and games, our team is happy — we are very comfortable both in the locker room and on the ice. And the main thing is to make the audience feel comfortable. Now we need to win as much as possible and meet the expectations of so many people who will now come to the club's home matches.

"" In the third period, the difference in the score was reduced by Egor Sokolov, who hit the "Torpedo" goal, from which he moved to Ak Bars last week. The striker scored for his former team four minutes before the end of regular time. At the last minute, Kazan sent the puck into the goal again, but the referees, to the applause of the local stands, canceled the goal due to the blocking of the goalkeeper of the hosts. "Torpedo" held the advantage — 3:2. Nizhny Novgorod began life in a new hockey house with a victory.