As reported on Radio Free Europe / RadioLiberty, only a year after Russia hosted soccer’s World Cup, one of the stadiums completed and opened just months before the event already appears to be in serious trouble, possibly sinking into a swamp.

From collapsed and bulging brickwork ringing the stadium to headaches with the drainage system that compound the risk of flooding, all is not well at the soccer stadium in Kaliningrad, the Russian exclave squeezed in between the Baltic state of Lithuania and Poland.

The reason? Critics say it has everything to do with the site. Kaliningrad Arena was built on wetlands in a floodplain with loose soil where no large structures of any kind had stood before. Builders were supposed to shore up the foundation with sand, but instead skimped on that while overbilling on the work, authorities alleged — leading to arrests, including that of a senior local official who is now on trial.

Russia spent more than $14 billion to host the FIFA World Cup in July and August 2018, making it the most expensive soccer competition in history. And like the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi far to the south on the Black Sea, the building of infrastructure and stadiums was plagued with charges of corruption, kickbacks, and shoddy work.

Neglect and decay are no strangers to stadiums and infrastructure in cities hosting events like the World Cup or the Olympics. Even some of the sites from the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil are already abandoned. But critics say few facilities have nosedived as quickly as the Kaliningrad Arena.

Kaliningrad Arena, which cost the equivalent of some $300 million, had largely been forgotten beyond Russia’s westernmost region after hosting four World Cup matches. It now is home to FC Baltika, a lower-division Russian side whose games usually attract a few thousand fans.

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