NHL star’s Moscow school taking shape – officials (IMAGES)

The Aleksandr Ovechkin International Hockey Academy will be a key part of a major new sports complex in the Russian capital

The construction in Moscow of an international ice hockey academy named after Aleksandr Ovechkin, an NHL star and member of the Russian national team, is making good progress, city officials reported this week. The facility is slated to become the centerpiece of a new sports-focused neighborhood in the Russian capital.

Little is known about the financial details of the academy named after the Washington Capitals hockey pro. It is believed to be privately-funded, with Ovechkin personally holding a 35% stake in the company developing it, and two other investors involved, according to an investigation by the Russian news website Sport.ru which was published last year.

The academy was first mentioned in a 2021 presentation by Russian officials, in which they laid out plans to build several connected sports facilities in the Mnyovniki floodplain in northwestern Moscow. Construction began in the summer of 2023, and CGI renders of the future complex have been made available to the public.

The academy will feature a 10-story main building hosting two 28x60m ice arenas, one of them with stands capable of accommodating 1,500 spectators, plus a mini-football pitch and an ice skating rink on the roof. There are also plans for two hotels, a medical center, smaller sport venues for swimming and fitness, and a conference hall. The combined size of the new facilities is over 43,000 square meters.

The city’s construction regulator has conducted five inspections of the site to monitor the progress and verify safety, its head Anton Slobodchikov told reporters on Tuesday. Officials noted that the academy was given roughly seven acres of city land on favorable terms.