MOSCOW -- Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered officials in St. Petersburg to speed up construction of a trouble-plagued stadium, which is scheduled to host matches during the 2018 World Cup, including a semifinal.
In a decree published Monday on the Kremlin's website, Putin said the stadium -- provisionally named Zenit Arena -- and other infrastructure must be built on time.
The stadium in Russia's second-largest city has been in construction for almost a decade, and St. Petersburg City Hall announced on Friday it had fired the general contractor over cost overruns and delays.