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 February 26, 2020 at the TASS information agency. 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 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 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. It is bordered by Tashkentskaya and Demokraticheskaya Streets and the Volga and Moscow highways. To better envisage the territory’s size, consider this: it can fit over five hundred football pitches.

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.

“The territory adjacent to the Samara Arena stadium is currently a major landmark that attracts both locals from all over the region, and numerous tourists. The legacy of the FIFA World Cup, which Samara successfully hosted in 2018, is being put to good use. Our goal is not just to preserve the infrastructure that we have already created, but also to provide the development of this promising venue with new momentum. That was our motivation behind hosting this international competition. I am confident that the best architects and public space designers will be able to present interesting solutions that will be unique in many respects and will transform this territory into a magnet for locals and guests from all over the world.”
-Dmitry Azarov 
Head of the judging panel
Governor of the Samara Region

Samara Arena is currently surrounded by a vast empty space that exceeds the stadium’s size almost 13-fold. The sheer size of the territory makes it possible to thoroughly plan and create, essentially from scratch, a modern, new district with all the necessary social, cultural, and economic features. Samara Arena remains the dominant architectural and functional landmark of this part of the city. Public discussions of the facilities that could be hosted in such a spacious area began immediately after the stadium’s unveiling. The competition will take these discussions to their final, practical stage. 

“We expect that this project’s execution is going to have a social impact first and foremost; it will drive the development of the city's community, as well as its economy.
Such proposals ought to be appealing to investors and meet the most exacting community demands regarding public space design.
I would like contestants, architects, and potential investors to approach the functional design of this territory as creatively as possible, accounting for global experience and the latest approaches to shaping the urban environment.”
-Elena Lapushkina
Head of the Samara Urban District

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 study resulted in an assessment of the territory’s urban planning potential, along with an in-depth survey of all the key real estate market aspects. The CENTER experts analyzed the area’s transport infrastructure and natural limitations, and listed the essential facilities to be constructed. One of the goals of this study was to analyze the relevant global projects involving the comprehensive development of territories near major sports venues similar to Samara Arena. This information served as the basis for suggestions and recommendations as to the most rational placement of various functional facilities throughout the area. The results of the study will soon be made public and will be freely accessible via the competition’s official website.

“The Corporation is interested in encouraging participation among the highest possible number of specialized organizations with practical experience in designing and executing similar comprehensive territorial development concepts. The way we see it, the main objective of the competition is both to create the most extensive list of concept options, and to select the final development scenarios for the territory around the Samara Arena stadium. In this respect, we obviously place particularly high hopes on the competent judges, whose professional expertise leaves no room for doubt.”
-Maksim Soyfer
Member of the judging panel
 CEO of the Samara Region Development Corporation

The competition will have two stages and will conclude on June 18. Application submissions are ongoing until March 20. 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.

“The FIFA World Cup has brought Samara Arena worldwide fame. This dominant architectural landmark means as much for the city as its famous Volga river embankment. The territory adjacent to the stadium should be used as productively as possible. We want this project to reflect the best that modern urban planning has to offer, so that Samara becomes the place where the most groundbreaking architectural concepts of our time come to life.”
-Sergei Georgievskii
Head of the Organizing Committee of the competition
CEO of the Agency for Strategic Development “CENTER”

To take part in the competition, it is necessary to fill out an application on the official competition website www.samarena.life 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.