The Universiade Village is one of the key venues of the 2013 Summer Universiade, a Games-time residence for athletes and heads of delegations. The draft of the Village was designed according to the FISU requirements. Delegations will be accommodated in single, double and triple rooms and will be provided with all the necessary facilities.

The Universiade Village is located in the Privolzhsky District of Kazan and is bordered by Zorge, Parin, Mavlyutov streets and Prospekt Pobedy. There are two buses running in the District, 47 and 27. The Universiade Village is also within walking distance from the Prospekt Pobedy metro station.

Facts and figures

• construction of the Universiade Village started in June 2009;
• total area of the Universiade Village is 53 hectares;
• total area of the residencial zone is 274,000 square metres;
• total area of the Universiade Kremlin — 43,600 square metres;
• общая вместимость свыше 13 000 athletes and delegates;
• total capacity is over 13,000 people;
• total length of the fence along the Universiade Village perimeter is 2,640 metres;
• estimated total area of green spaces — 141,784 square metres;
• total area of tree plantations is 35,298 square metres;
• over 4,000 workers were involved in construction of the Universiade Village.

Construction progress

The Universiade Village is located on the territory with a total area of 38 hectares, within public transport distance from places of arrival of athletes, delegates and visitors of the 2013 Summer Universiade and sports venues.

The Universiade Village groundbreaking ceremony was held on July 10, 2009 and saw participation of Deputy Chairman of the Russian Government and Kazan 2013 Organising Committee Chairman Igor Shuvalov. Initially, the Universiade Village was designed as a student campus, unlike most other Athletes’ Villages that later are transformed into commercial housing complexes.

The Universiade Village project was approved by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. The Chairman of the Russian Council of Ministers visited Kazan on May 5, 2010 and inspected construction progress of the venue.

Universiade Village residents

The Universiade Village’s first two clusters were put into operation on August 30. These clusters include 20 residence buildings with a total area of 187,000 square metres and total capacity of over 7,000 students. The FISU-recommended accreditation procedure of athletes was tested in the course of students’ move-in. 1,142 residents were accommodated within 8 hours and all the data were accumulated in the common electronic database.

The first two clusters of the Universiade Village were handed over to Kazan Federal University. On December 31, 2010 the total number of residents reached 2,689 people. 67% of students residing in the Universiade Village are from the Republic of Tatarstan, 23% are from regions of the Russian Federation and 10% are international students. All in all, students of 39 nationalities live in the student campus.

Facilities and transportation

The Universiade Village boasts of most up-to-date facilities and infrastructure built to provide comfortable living conditions to campus residents. The medical station and pharmacy that opened on the territory of the Universiade Village, operate around the clock. There is a post office and public security post as well. Internet-connection is available on campus. The emergency dispatch service started its work since the very opening of the Universiade Village, at present it also receives orders on-line.

In order to provide athletes and delegates with other ways of transportation, beside the metro station located in close proximity to the Village, a new bus route 27 was launched and bus 47′s route was extended till the final stop Universiade Village. The new bus routes now allow students to get to university in less than 45 minutes. Security is top priority at the Universiade Village. There are more than 50 policemen and security guards working daily on the territory of the Village in order to ensure security of its residents.

Cultural and sporting events

The Universiade Village was announced the ‘territory of health’ with its own strict codes of conduct. Representatives of Kazan’s higher education institutions work together with the Universiade Village administration to conduct a joint social and educational work aimed at building a highly moral image of a Kazan student.

Right after the first move-in stage, an open step aerobics marathon was held that gathered half of the Universiade Village residents.

Students living in the Village handle the campus facilities with care. Saturday cleanup, litter pick and tree planting events are held on a regular basis and involve practically all the residents.

Various sporting events, like football, volleyball, chess tournaments and others, are often organised at the Universiade Village. All of them can be titled ‘international’, since there are foreign students among entrants as well. The Burevestnik Swimming Pool and Tennis Academy provide free access for Universiade Village residents to all their facilities. Over 30 sporting events took place during the first four months of the Village’s existence.

Cluster 3 of Universiade Village and International Media Centre

The third cluster includes 8 residence buildings with a total area of 86,000 square metres. It is expected that the cluster will be handed over to the Volga Region State Academy of Physical Culture, Sports and Tourism for accommodating students and athletes of the federal training centre for summer sports national team.

Apart from the residence buildings, the International Media Centre is being built at the Universiade Village as well. The centre with a total area of 45,100 square metres will comprise an educational laboratory of the Academy. The solemn groundbreaking ceremony with participation of Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov and Kazan Mayor Ilsur Metshin took place on August 2, 2010. The Media Centre will include such facilities as Team Centre, Arrival/Departure Service, Accreditation Centre, Sports Centre, Information Centre, Ceremonial Square and FISU Museum. The design of the building stipulates that the facility will be remodeled during the Games with minimal changes. Cluster 3 and International Media Centre are expected to be put into operation in September 2011.

State Autonomous Institution of Republic of Tatarstan “Universiade Village”

The State Autonomous Institution of Republic of Tatarstan “Universiade Village” was established in order to ensure an integrated operation of the venue. The project of the Universiade Village is presented at various specialised exhibitions. At the the FIABCI Prix d’Excellence Awards the State Autonomous Institution of Republic of Tatarstan “Universiade Village” was granted a diploma for a considerable contribution into development of socially significant infrastructure for youth and promotion of sports.

Distinguished guests are frequent guests at the Universiade Village. The unique student campus already welcomed such visitors as Chairman of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Sergey Mironov, Rusisan Accounts Chamber Chairman Sergey Stepashin, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Alexander Yakovenko, Governor of the Gilboa Regional Council Danny Atar (Israel) and Governor of the Jenin region Musa Kadura (Palestine) and others.

In June-July 2010 the Universiade Village was inspected by the FISU CT delegates and received a positive evaluation.

In November 2010 Lawrence D. Rink, Chairman of the FISU Medical Committee, visited the Universiade Village with an inspection visit.

The Universiade Village is a venue with a format totally new for Russia; it’s designed for students accommodation, education, work and outdoor activities.

USA Delegation Officials Nels Hawkinson and Craig Jonas visited Kazan in April 2012 and received a tour of the Kazan Village.  Check out the photo slideshow below for a sneak peak of the 2013 Athletes Village!