Yuri Shalabaev, along with young resident of the Lenin district Roman Buss, checked the progress of the construction of the sports ground that the schoolboy had requested from the mayor.

      The mayor of the city, Yuri Shalabaev, visited two sports grounds in the Kanavinsky and Lenin districts, which are being created in the city for accessible yard sports activities for children and teenagers. At both locations - 50 Bauman Street and 1 Zaprudnaya Street - the mayor conducted inspections together with local residents and young Nizhny Novgorod citizens.

      The mayor has visited Bauman Street before. In August of last year, in this area, Yuri Shalabaev inspected the progress of the improvement of yard territories after a request made to him during a personal reception by Larisa Ochnova. During the walk, local kids approached him and asked for a new sports ground to be built. "A first-grader named Roman came up to me and told me that he and his friends play football on a wasteland with rusty goals. We looked at the area together and decided to build a new sports ground here. Now the construction work is in the final stage: only the rubber crumb surface needs to be laid, the markings applied, and the protective nets installed. Children will be able to play not only football and basketball here in the summer but also skate in the winter and play hockey," the mayor said, instructing the district administration to work on the further development of this area together with colleagues from the United Russia party.

      The initiator of the sports ground construction, eight-year-old Roman Buss, admitted that he checks the readiness of the ground with his friends every day, which they are eagerly awaiting. "I only asked the mayor for nets for the goals, and he built a whole field with new goals and a box! We will play football here all summer. I have already decided that I will join a professional section in September," the boy shared. After the conversation between Roman and the mayor, Yuri Shalabaev promised to gift the future athlete a hockey stick.

      Roman's mother, Ekaterina Burina, supported her son's opinion: "They made us a real box: we can now play both football and hockey. We are very happy! There are many children living here who play football. They constantly come to see how the construction is going and are eagerly waiting for all the work to be completed. Together with the large-scale improvement of the yards that was done last year, a very beautiful area has been created," she said.

      Larisa Ochnova, a resident of the Lenin district, added that after the improvement last year, the Molitovsky Zaton microdistrict has changed significantly for the joy of the residents. "They made us roads and parking spaces, put the green areas in order, installed lighting, and updated benches and trash cans. All local residents try to keep and maintain cleanliness and order!" she shared.

      The mayor, Yuri Shalabaev, also visited another sports ground that residents requested in the Kanavinsky district. At 1 Zaprudnaya Street, where there used to be an old tennis court, a universal sports ground with a rubber surface, streetball stands, mini-football goals for the summer, and hockey goals for the winter has been installed. Professional coaches from the "Sport in Every Yard" project are already conducting classes for local residents there, and today it hosted football players - teams of kids from local schools.

      "The ground has been made multifunctional so that children can play various sports both in winter and summer. I was told that yard matches take place here every day until late at night! Ahead of the young athletes and amateurs is a whole summer, which, I hope, they will spend in sports competition," the mayor noted, adding that another modern sports ground will appear this year in the village of Berezovaya Poima, and a total of 93 sports facilities will be modernized in the city. "We pay attention to the development of sports infrastructure every year: our goal is for every resident of each yard to have the opportunity to freely engage in sports on accessible multifunctional grounds."

      Young footballers from the Kanavinsky district said that the new surface, like the ground itself, only contributes to a successful game. "We will often come here now - to play football and basketball. The rubber surface is very good, falling doesn't hurt, and the goals are excellent - it's easier to score in them," believes young Nizhny Novgorod resident Artem Michurin.

      "Everything has been done at the highest level: both the design and the goals! I usually come here to train on weekends. But I know that many kids - both younger and older - come to train and play on the ground every day," said Platon Shchelokov.

      It is worth noting that almost 223 million rubles have been allocated in Nizhny Novgorod for the repair and purchase of equipment for urban sports facilities in 2026. This was announced by the mayor of Nizhny Novgorod, Yuri Shalabaev, on his social media, discussing the formed plans and schedules for repairs.