Kazan Universiade costs $4.5 billion

The Kazan stadium under construction earlier this year

Kazan (Russia), July 5 (IANS) Preparations for the upcoming Kazan University Games have cost $4.5 billion, International University Sports Federation president Claude-Louis Gallien said Friday.

“It’s too early to speak of specific amounts, but around $4.5 billion was spent on the preparation for the Universiade,” Gallien said, reports Xinhua.

Among the total cost, around $435 million was spent on the athletes’ village, and another $375 million on the Kazan Arena, which will host the opening and closing ceremonies of the games.

The Universiade Village, a neighbourhood of 53 hectares, was officially established on Saturday. It has a total residential area of 274,000 square metres and can accommodate over 14,500 people.

The Kazan Games, slated for July 6-17, will become the second most expensive one in Universiade history, falling only behind the 2011 Games in Shenzhen, China which cost around $30 billion.

The Games features 27 sports and has 351 gold medals up for grabs.