Aleksey Pesoshin takes part in the solemn opening of the Rugby Centre in Kazan
On September 2, the Rais (Head) of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov together with Prime Minister of Tatarstan Aleksey Pesoshin, Mayor of Kazan Ilsur Metshin, Head of the Tatarstan Office of the Federal Antimonopoly Service and President of the Tatarstan Rugby Federation Ayrat Shafigullin, Tatarstan Minister of Sport Vladimir Leonov, as well as the management and players of the Strela-Ak Bars rugby club officially opened a new Rugby Centre located on Rauis Gareyev Street in Kazan.
Welcoming the participants, Rustam Minnikhanov emphasized that the opening is a landmark event in the sporting life of the republic.
“The journey from the first training sessions at Dynamo Stadium in 1967 to this modern facility has been a journey of perseverance, tradition and victories. The new centre provides fundamentally new opportunities for the development of rugby in the republic. It is part of our broader effort to develop sports infrastructure in Kazan and throughout Tatarstan,” he said.
The Rais of Tatarstan noted that Kazan had opened a Figure Skating Centre and a Football Development Centre the previous week, both built to world-class standards. An Archery Centre is also scheduled to open.
In addition, four indoor football arenas are planned to be commissioned in Leninogorsk, Alekseevskoye, Drozhzhanovskoye and Tyulyachi regions of the republic along with four sports halls in Arsk, Zelenodolsk, Zainsk and Agryz regions, and three ice arenas in Aksubayevo, Tukay and Novosheshminsk regions.
“We will continue creating the conditions to make sport more accessible to residents, give children the opportunity to train at modern facilities and enable our athletes to prepare for competitions, achieve outstanding results and represent our republic at both national and international events. The Rugby Centre will become an important part of this system. Rugby is a sport for determined and strong people,” the Rais of Tatarstan said.
Strela-Ak Bars head coach JP Neal said that the new facility was the best rugby stadium in the Northern Hemisphere.
“With a facility like this, we can improve our results. For the past five months, we have been training at the neighbouring Tulpar Stadium and watching how quickly this facility was being built. We will do our best to make the republic proud of us,” he added.
Accompanied by Rugby Centre Director Ramil Valiullin, Minnikhanov looked around the new facility to inspect the conditions provided for athletes.
The ground floor houses fitness and strength-training facilities, changing rooms, medical rooms and athletes’ lounges. The second floor features a cafeteria and three access points to the pitch. The third floor contains offices and 10 bedrooms.
The building has a total area of more than 5,400 square metres. The pitch features an artificial turf surface equipped with irrigation and heating systems. The open-air stands can accommodate 1,750 spectators.
The Rugby Centre in Kazan will serve as the home ground of Strela-Ak Bars, which was founded in 1989. In 2025, it won the Russian Super Cup and Russian Cup and claimed the national championship title.
Rugby began developing in Tatarstan in 1967, when Kazan athletes held their first training sessions at Dynamo Stadium. Today, around 2,000 people play rugby in the republic, with 20 coaches working in the sport. Rugby has developed particularly strongly in Kazan, Naberezhnye Chelny, Nizhnekamsk, Chistopol and Arsk. A total of 555 children and teenagers currently train in rugby programmes at sports schools across Tatarstan.
The first match at the new Rugby Centre in Kazan is scheduled for September 20, 2026, when Strela-Ak Bars will host Moscow-based Slava-MAR.