Russia's Samara Arena To Settle Electricity Debt By End Of Week - Owner

The electricity debt that has recently caused a brief power outage at Russia's Samara Arena, one of the 2018 FIFA World Cup venues, will be settled by the end of the week, the press service of the stadium's owner, FGUP Sport-In, told Sputnik on Wednesday.

SAMARA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 29th August, 2018) The electricity debt that has recently caused a brief power outage at Russia's Samara Arena, one of the 2018 FIFA World Cup venues, will be settled by the end of the week, the press service of the stadium's owner, FGUP Sport-In, told Sputnik on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, power supplier PAO Samaraenergo cut electricity at the Samara Arena because its developer, PSO Kazan, had not paid its electricity bills for 2018 and had therefore run up a debt of over 9.2 million rubles (over $135,000). Power was restored in just a few hours, which a spokeswoman for Samaraenergo attributed to the "social value" of the arena, and also to the fact that the developer had pledged to settle the bills.

"As far as we know, the stadium's developer will settle the electricity debt by the end of this week," the press service said.

The 41,970-seat Samara Arena was built especially for the World Cup, which was held in 11 cities across Russia from June 14 to July 15. The venue hosted six matches of the tournament, including England's 2-0 win over Sweden in the quarterfinals.

Since its opening in April, the Samara Arena has become the home stadium for a local club � Krylia Sovetov. On September 1, the stadium is set to host a Russian Premier League match between Krylia Sovetov and Anzhi Makhachkala.

On June 7, Russian President Vladimir Putin called on Russian governors to use the infrastructure created for the World Cup to further engage the public in sports.