Seized cathedral in Cherkasy to be used as a shelter for fans

St. Michael’s Cathedral in Cherkasy. Photo: Drymba

The general director of the Cherkasy football team "LNZ," Andriy Kolesnyk, revealed in an interview with the 18000 news outlet that his club had signed a commercial agreement with the current owners of Archangel Michael Cathedral to use the church as a shelter for football fans. This agreement has significantly increased the number of spectators allowed at the stadium during matches. Due to martial law, the club can sell as many tickets as the number of shelter spots available in case of an air raid alert. With this arrangement, "LNZ" can now sell 1,000 tickets instead of 400, greatly boosting the club’s revenue.

According to Kolesnyk, the UOC refused to cooperate, whereas the OCU signed a contract with the club, granting access to the lower church as a shelter during matches. The financial details of the contract were not disclosed.

"We signed the agreement and helped set up a shelter in the church’s basement, which is located opposite the stadium," the director stated, adding that the "previous holders" refused to lease the church as a shelter.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that the OCU was using the seized cathedral in Cherkasy as a concert hall, with ticket prices set at 100 UAH.

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