The opening of the sports ground in Gagarin Park was postponed until November 18.

      The completion of the multifunctional sports facility in Gagarin Park has been postponed until November 18, 2025. This was announced by Ivan Stroy, deputy head of the Kirov administration for social affairs, and Igor Palkin, director of the Soyuz sports school.

      According to the officials, the delay is due to errors made by the design organization responsible for the documentation: the designers did not visit the site and failed to take into account the terrain and soil type. After work began, the contractor had to carry out a significant amount of additional earthworks — excavation and removal of soil, strengthening the base, and laying sand and crushed stone.

      In addition, construction could not start on time due to the need to fell 62 trees and 7 shrubs, as well as to perform sanitary pruning on 14 trees. These works were carried out by the Kirov City Improvement Directorate and the Pervomaysky Territorial Administration. Only after they were completed could the contractor begin preparing the site.

      "The project was completed long before the start of work, and when we arrived on site we realized that some of the design solutions were inapplicable. The work had to be adjusted on site. The deadline was lawfully extended — the prosecutor's office checked and found no violations," Ivan Stroy explained.

      According to an official letter from the Soyuz sports school to the Pervomaysky District prosecutor's office, the contract with Construction Company Partner LLC was extended by mutual agreement until November 18. Currently, according to the administration, about 80–85% of the work has been completed. The main earthwork stages are finished, the installation of the hockey rink and curbstones is underway, and next comes the laying of the artificial turf for the football field.

      The mayor's office notes that after construction is completed the facility is planned to be transferred to the balance of the Pervomaysky Territorial Administration so that it can be used not only by the sports school’s students but also by all residents of the district.

      "Our goal is to make the facility accessible to everyone. It will include a football field, a hockey rink, a basketball area, a skate park, a running track and exercise equipment. We expect that in winter it will be possible to create an ice rink here," Igor Palkin said.

      Interestingly, they are not promising to flood the rink this year. An agreement has already been made that it will appear closer to the Philharmonic, on the side of the amusement park. Park staff will also be responsible for its maintenance.

      The contractor intends to deliver the facility on time — by November 18.

      As a reminder, we previously reported that the handover of the sports facility in Gagarin Park had already been delayed: the contractor missed the original deadlines due to errors in the project documentation and weather conditions. The project was originally planned to be completed in October.