EuroChem is pleased to announce the opening of the Olympic, a new state-of-the-art hockey and figure skating arena in Nevinnomyssk, Southern Russia. The grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony was held on 1 June 2013. The region’s first-of-its-kind sports facility was constructed as part of a public-private partnership between the Russian Ministry of Sports, the Stavropol Territory Government, the Nevinnomyssk Administration, and EuroChem.

At a cost of approximately RUB 311m, the 1,568 sq. meter arena has a capacity to seat 600 spectators. The ice rink will be open to the public for skating and includes a winter sports school for children and youth.

The opening ceremony was attended by the Governor of the Stavropol Territory Valery Zerenkov, EuroChem CEO Dmitry Strezhnev, two-time Olympic hockey champions Vladimir Petrov and Boris Mikhailov, European figure skating champions Yuko Kavaguti and Alexander Smirnov, among other officials and renowned athletes.

Commenting on the upcoming opening of the Olympic arena, Dmitry Strezhnev, EuroChem CEO, said: “I am delighted to attend the ceremony in Nevinnomyssk on Saturday to officially open the Olympic arena, another successful project we have completed together with the Ministry of Sports to develop children’s ice sports in Russia. Nevinnomyssk is an important region for EuroChem’s operations and we are proud to continue contributing to the local community.”

To celebrate the opening of the Olympic arena, EuroChem offered hockey and figure skating master classes with star athletes for children. Furthermore, all spectators enjoyed a show by Yuko Kavagti and Alexander Smirnov and a hockey game featuring the teams of Nevinnomyssk vs Armavir, the Krasnodar Territory, on the day.

EuroChem and the Ministry of Sports of the Russian Federation have been working together for 3 years to develop children’s ice sports in Russia. The development programme is aimed at constructing new hockey and ice skating facilities, as well as sports schools for children and youth across Russia.  In 2011, the programme was recognised as the best one in the Leaders in Corporate Philanthropy in Russia rankings organised by the Vedomosti business daily, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Donors’ Forum.

Among the sporting facilities already delivered as part of the programme are a hockey and figure skating arena and the Victoria sport school for children and youth with a capacity of 400 students, both in Novomoskovsk, the Tula Region in Central Russia. A hockey and figure skating arena in Kingisepp, the Leningrad Region, is currently under construction. Furthermore, EuroChem has initiated an international junior hockey tournament.  Two events featuring teams from Espoo, (Finland) Antwerp (Belgium), Novomoskovsk and Kingisepp were held in Espoo, and Novomoskovsk in 2012 and 2013, respectively.