Champions League - Moscow bursting at seams

Eurosport - Thu, 01 May 16:34:00 2008

For the 42,000 English fans arriving to watch the Champions League final Moscow has said it will expedite visas, clear runways, extend subway hours and build a bridge.

Hotel rooms to accommodate Manchester United and Chelsea supporters descending on the Luzhniki stadium on May 21 were more of a problem, however.

Moscow has about 34,000 hotel rooms for about 75,000 guests according to US State Department statistics. Some 5,500 are so-called Western-standard hotel rooms and local media say almost all are booked during the Champions League final.

"It's a well documented fact that Moscow does not have enough hotel rooms for an event of this magnitude. Especially in the three to four-star range, where most football fans are likely to stay," said Natalya Anashkina, Editor in Chief of the Russian Hotel Association's magazine 'Concept Hotel'.

"There are a lot of five-star hotels now but the prices there are expensive even by European standards," said Anashkina.

Calls to two Moscow five-star hotels, the Baltschug-Kempinski and the Ritz-Carlton, showed no available rooms. Not even the $3,920 per night Honeymoon Suite was available for the Champions League final.

One idea floated by deputy mayor Valeriy Vinogradov, the man organising the city's efforts for the championship, is for fans to fly in the morning of the match and leave Russia immediately after.

Such a plan would mean the city would not reap the benefit of extra tourist spending, however.
"I think the city administration is thinking more about the kinds of fans who come to football matches and probably wants them to stay for as little time as possible," Anashkina said.

"I've been to a few football matches myself and I can tell you, they are not always filled with the most desirable clientele," she added.

The Russian foreign ministry has dispatched teams of extra embassy workers to Manchester and London to expedite entry formalities and officials said all fans would get their visas on time.

On Monday, Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov told Russian news agency RBK they would build a temporary footbridge over the busy road along Luzhniki Stadium and officials said the city would open its smallest airport Bykovo to comply with a UEFA requirement that opposing fans arrive separately.

The city's vast and sprawling metro would also run an extra three hours into early hours of the morning after the game, the first Champions League final between two English sides.

United and Chelsea chief executives David Gill and Peter Kenyon were due to meet UEFA officials in Moscow to discuss preparations for the final.

Each club has an allocation of 21,000 tickets with the capacity at the Luzhniki Stadium being set at 69,500 for the final.

UEFA director of communications William Gaillard told Sky Sports News: "We have no specific worries or problems.

"I think both clubs have developed a tradition of travelling abroad and both clubs are very well organised.

"We have never had any problems with either of those clubs' fans. We are looking forward to welcoming them in Moscow and sure they will put on a great show."

United and Chelsea fans who cannot get a final ticket as part of their clubs' allocation may buy tickets from other sources but Gaillard warned: "I would very much discourage them. There is no guarantee that the ticket they get is a bona fide ticket. Also every ticket has a number and every number identifies a person."