Moscow hosted the
Olympic Games in the summer of
1980 and as a result has numerous good
sporting venues, even though the 100,000-seat Lenin
Stadium – former home of the Spartak
Moscow (tel: (095) 799 5622; e-mail: info@spartak.dol.ru)
football club – at the Luzhiniki stadium
complex, is now a giant flea market.
Spartak Moscow currently plays
at the Lokomotiv Stadium, Bolshaya Cher-kizovskaya
ulitsa 125A (tel: (161) 9385 9063), as do Lokomotiv
Moscow. The well-known Dinamo Moscow football
club plays at the Central Dinamo Stadium,
36 Leningradsky prospekt (tel: (095) 271 8529), while FC
Torpedo Moscow plays at the Torpedo
Stadium, Vostchnaya ulitsa 4 (tel: (095) 275 0745). The
5th premier division team in the city is the Central
Sport Club of the Army – abbreviated TSSKA
or CSKA – who play at the
CSKA Peschanoe Stadium, Leningradsky prospekt 39A
(tel: (095) 213 7992), as does the popular CSKA
ice hockey team. As a matter of fact, many of the teams cross sport
boundaries – Spartak field an ice hockey team and CSKA also
has a basketball team.
Tennis is now having
the benefit of a great deal of recognition, not
least because it was frowned upon as bourgeois in Soviet times and
because of the worldwide achievement of Russian stars,
such as Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Anna Kournikova
and Marat Safin. Moscow hosts
the country’s yearly grand slam, the Kremlin Cup,
at the Olympiisky Sports Complex, Mira prospekt 16 (telephone: (095)
288 5453).
Partner
(tel: (095) 363 5555) is a fine ticketing company,
covering sport, theatre and music events. The Moscow Head
Office of Theatre, Concert and Sport Ticket Bureaus
(tel: (095) 249 5792) provides detailed information and
tickets.
Banya
As sure as a Russian likes tea from a samovar, a Russian
likes a banya – which generally includes a sauna,
massage and sometimes even a light whipping with birch twigs, just
to make sure that the circulation is really working. Seleznovskye
Bani, Seleznovskaya ulitsa (tel: (095) 978 7521), meets
all the essential requirements for a traditional banya. Meanwhile,
the Bani na Presne, Stolyarniy pereulok (tel: (095)
253 8690), takes a more contemporary approach.
Diving
Visitors to Moscow can learn to dive at Sprut (Octopus)
diving club (tel: (095) 212 5775).
Fitness
centres
The new up to date sanatorium-style complex Kimberly Land
(tel: (095) 310 0401) offers an aqua park with some swimming pools
(whirlpool, kids pools and hills), a fully equipped gym and Turkish
baths. Bitsa Equestrian Sport Club (tel: (095)
318 5366) offers swimming, shooting, tennis, volleyball, aerobics,
horseriding and paintballing, as well as a full fitness centre.
The Entertainment Centre
na Tulskoi, Kholodilny pereulok 3 (tel: (095) 954 0158), is
open 1200-2400hrs for rollerskating (Rb80-150 per hour) and bowling
(Rb60-100 per game), as well as 2300-0600hrs on Fridays and Saturdays
for a roller disco.
Golf
There is a fairly central 9-hole course at the
Moscow City Golf Club, Dovzhenko ulitsa 1 (tel:
(095) 147 1826), where admission costs Rb1661/US$54
for non-members. More exciting 18-hole courses
are further out at Le Meridien Moscow Country Club,
in Nakhadino (tel: (095) 926 5911). Green fees are Rb3076/US$100
on weekends and membership is required.
Tennis
The Chaika Tennis Courts, Korobeynikov pereulok
1 (tel: (095) 202 0474), are conveniently located close to Park
Kultury Metro station. There is a swimming pool in the complex as
well. Petrovsky Park Tennis Club, Leningradsky
prospekt 36 (tel: (095) 212 7392), is an additional option.
Wintersports
There is a downhill ski jump in the Vorobyevi
Hills and cross-country skiing opportunities
at Izmailovsky Park and in the countryside outside
Moscow. There are several places to skate when
the water freezes in mid-winter, including Gorky Park.
|
