Nornickel Presents a Brand-New Sports and Recreation Centre Aika in Norilsk

NORILSK, Russia, December 25, 2020 (Newswire.com) - ​Just in time for winter holidays, MMC Norilsk Nickel, the world’s largest producer of palladium and high-grade nickel headed by Vladimir Potanin, finished construction and opened a brand-new sports and recreation complex "Aika" in Norilsk. The Sports Centre is another social infrastructure project built by the Company in Norilsk and is available to all residents of the Norilsk region. 

Nikolai Utkin, Norilsk Division Head of Nornickel commented:

“Today we are opening an ultra-modern sports hall that meets the highest international standards. We were all looking forward to this day with great impatience. I sincerely congratulate all of you on this significant event. I am sure that the ‘Aika’ sports hall will become another popular place for sports enthusiasts, and will also help diversify the leisure of Norilsk residents. The sports hall will launch with the match of the Mini-Football team ‘Norilsk Nickel’, for which this centre will become the home arena. And tomorrow the children's mini-football school ‘Aika’ will open its doors for the first time here.”

The Company invested RUR3.6bln ($50ml) in the project and it took two years to complete. The three-story sports complex covers an area of ​​over 10,000 m² with a capacity for up to 2,000 people. It offers separate fields for basketball, volleyball, badminton and other sports, as well as gyms, cafes and other facilities. It will also host training sessions for the Norilsk Nickel mini-football club and the city’s children’s mini-football teams.

Norilsk natives have chosen the name for the new complex themselves. Aika is the name of a bear cub known for its touching history not only in Norilsk, but all over the world. In the 1970s the polar bear lived in the family of Yuri Ledin, film director of the Norilsk television studio - and many locals remember the excitement caused by their appearances on the streets of the northern city to this day.

About MMC Norilsk Nickel

MMC Norilsk Nickel is a diversified mining and metallurgical company, the world’s largest producer of palladium, high-grade nickel, and a major producer of platinum and copper; it also produces cobalt, rhodium, silver, gold, iridium, ruthenium, selenium, tellurium, sulphur and other products. Nornickel shares are listed on the Moscow and Saint Petersburg Stock Exchanges; ADRs are traded over the counter in the U.S. and on the London, Berlin and Frankfurt Stock Exchanges.

Contact: Tatyana Egorova, [email protected]

Source: MMC Norilsk Nickel