Yaroslavl authorities cancel demolition of athletics arena

The city administration responded to a request, clarifying the fate of the sports facility at Chkalov Street, 20a. The plan to demolish the building and construct a new one has been canceled; a decision has been made to carry out reconstruction.

In an official response, the mayor«s office stated:

Currently, the Yaroslavl city mayor»s office is considering replacing the air-supported dome with a permanent roof based on metal trusses. Since changes to the parameters of the object and its parts (height, number of floors, area, volume) are expected, including superstructure, reconstruction, expansion, as well as replacement and/or restoration of load-bearing structures, the subject of discussion is precisely reconstruction, not demolition.

To date, the necessary inspections of the structure have been completed. Concepts and sketch projects for future work have been developed, and technical specifications for design have been drawn up.

Now, the mayor«s office is working on including the arena reconstruction project in investment programs and is seeking funding sources.

Thus, specific timelines for the work and the amount allocated for design and estimate documentation are currently undetermined. If the athletics arena is closed for reconstruction, events and training sessions will be moved to municipal sports facilities in Yaroslavl,

The issue of the arena«s fate in the Leninsky District was raised as early as the beginning of summer 2025, when possible demolition was discussed. The facility has long needed repairs, with the problem becoming especially acute in 2023 after a leak in the inflatable roof. Despite this, training and competitions in the building continued.

Earlier, in 2024, the mayor«s office submitted an application for architectural and construction design, which involved the demolition of the existing arena and construction of a new one. However, later the authorities agreed to consider the reconstruction option, which became the final decision.

In December 2025, the All-Russian Athletics Competitions planned to be held in this arena were canceled in Yaroslavl. The official reason cited technical circumstances, with a promise to reschedule the event for summer. The regional Ministry of Sports clarified that the competition dates fell during the New Year holidays.