Russia is to construct a world-class rugby stadium in Monino, just outside Moscow, sports minister Vitaly Mutko said Friday.
Mutko made the remarks at a meeting with Bernard Lapasset, the head of the International Rugby Board, on Friday, the eve of the European Rugby Sevens Championship in Moscow.
The championship is seen as a trial run for next year's Rugby Sevens World Championship, for which the new arena will be built.
"Russia has a lot of experience in organizing big sports competitions," Mutko told Lapasset. "And I'm sure we will conduct this tournament on the highest level."
"For the 2013 World Cup a specialized stadium will be built in Monino," Mutko said. "It will be the first world-class rugby facility in our country."
Monino, a town of 20,000, is home to Russia's most successful club, VVA Podmoskovye, a team that supplied 13 members of the Bears' squad at their maiden World Cup appearance in New Zealand last fall.
