Volgograd Arena named best stadium of 2018 by fans' poll (PHOTOS/VIDEO)
Volgograd Arena, one of the 12 host stadiums for the Russia 2018 World Cup, has been voted the best stadium of 2018 in a poll run by Stadium Database which surveyed thousands of football fans for their opinions.
The ground, located next to the Volga River after which the city is named and standing under the gaze of The Motherland Calls statue at the city's historic Mamayev Kurgan monument to the Battle of Stalingrad, won the Popular Vote to determine the Stadium of the Year 2018 by the site.
Volgograd Arena racked up 16,460 of the votes to claim represent 46.6% of all votes cast, and received particular support from fans in Russia, USA and Poland. The ground was also honored with over 10,700 five-star ratings.
Announcing the winner, the site said: "Volgograd Arena takes victory with huge advantage over other candidates. That is: with support in Volgograd itself.
"We've monitored reactions by populations to press coverage of the competition and nowhere else has a nomination to our award caused as much enthusiasm as in Volgograd. Which is exactly what a great stadium needs: a community that identifies itself with their new arena."
It was a clean sweep for Russian stadiums in the poll, as Samara Arena scooped second place and third place went to Nizhny Novgorod.
Despite some initial doubts about whether the stadium would open on time to host its first match on June 18 between England and Tunisia.
It was completed thanks to near round-the-clock construction and maintenance to see Gareth Southgate's men record a stoppage-time 2-1 win thanks to a Harry Kane brace.
The stadium also went on to host three more group games between Nigeria and Iceland, Saudi Arabia and Egypt and Japan versus Poland.
