“Attraction” Leisure and Amusement Park Opens in Magnitogorsk
The first phase of “Attraction”, a large-scale project to transform the city’s urban environment, initiated by Viktor Rashnikov, PJSC Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works Chairman and investor of the project, was opened today in Magnitogorsk.
The opening ceremony was attended by Valentina Matvienko, Speaker of the Federation Council, Vladimir Yakushev, Presidential Plenipotentiary Representative in the Ural Federal District, and Aleksey Teksler, Governor of Chelyabinsk Region. Together with Mr Rashnikov they opened the first phase of the “Attraction” park, an unprecedented project for the city and the region which aims to comprehensively redevelop around 400 hectares of land to create a year-round multifunctional park with an approximately 100,000 sqm of different venues and facilities. These will include educational, museum, public and business spaces, as well as sports and events facilities, a hotel, and other recreational facilities.
“Our work will result in an interesting, comfortable, and convenient space for the city’s residents. Everyone will be able to discover new opportunities for leisure, self-development, entertainment and an active lifestyle. “Attraction” is set to become the city’s calling card and become an exciting place for Magnitogorsk’s residents and guests,” Mr Rashnikov said.
The first phase of the “Attraction” park covers an area of 27 hectares, 23 hectares of which are taken up by green spaces and footpaths. It includes an information centre, a food court, a roller-skating park, a central children’s playground, and a pedestrian boulevard with a central entrance area and a musical fountain. The complex also features a parking lot for 2,100 vehicles.
The information centre is the starting point for visitors to the “Attraction” park. The centre provides full information on all the site’s facilities and locations, shows the history of the project and its plans for the future, and offers tickets to various attractions and services.
One of the first phase’s key facilities is the food court. This 2000 sqm gastronomic space provides a new place for city residents to socialise and relax, as well as serving as a venue for cultural and entertainment events. The building stands amid the pedestrian boulevard. The ground floor of the food court hosts a restaurant that seats 80 guests, while the first floor, with a capacity of 240 guests, will offer 14 gastronomic concepts including European, Georgian, Asian, and other popular cuisines from around the world.
Designers of the “Attraction” park have paid particular attention to infrastructure for children and young people. A roller-skating park, an 8,000 sqm playground with space for parents, and 30 theme park attractions have opened as part of the project’s first phase. The roller-skating park, unparalleled in the region, will turn into an ice-skating rink in the winter.
An important part of the project is the pedestrian boulevard with a central entrance area and musical fountain, where images will be projected directly onto the vertical water surface. Half of the pedestrian boulevard has been completed as part of the project’s first phase; the boulevard is designed to be raised four metres above the city level, and will be planted with various trees and shrubs and paved with natural stones. Here, like in the park area, residents will be able to enjoy the greenery while strolling along footpaths. Over 1,500 trees, 50,000 shrubs, and 330,000 perennial flowers and bulbs have been planted, along with 125,000 sqm of lawns. The park area features an incredible diversity of plant species, gathering together the very best flora that are found in the South Urals.
Construction work is underway on the second phase of Attraction Park, which will include a panoramic hill with a well-equipped observation platform and various outdoor sports facilities. These include a snow park, tubing and skiing tracks, which will receive a special coating for year-round use. During the summer, the park will feature mountain biking trails and a zipline for high-speed descent from the top of the hill to the finishing station at the Big Lake, an artificial body of water within the park.
The “Attraction” park will become a new cultural and education centre for Magnitogorsk, a gathering place for the city’s residents and guests who lead an active lifestyle, strive for self-fulfilment, and who appreciate beauty and quality leisure activities. The project’s designers plan to open new facilities at the park each year until 2025, including a museum and a business complex, an oceanarium, an ice and freestyle arena, a four-star hotel, a fitness centre, an indoor children’s amusement park, a lakeside restaurant and stage, and numerous other outdoor leisure areas.