Major redevelopment work at Real Madrid’s Estadio Santiago Bernabéu is set to begin at the end of this season after club president Florentino Perez provided an update on the plans today (Tuesday).
The LaLiga football club is planning to modernise the 81,000-seat stadium, which has been its home since 1947. A press conference today featured a video showcasing the plans, which are expected to cost more than €500m (£429m/$560m) to realise.
🆕🏟 ¡Así será el nuevo estadio Santiago Bernabéu! #HalaMadrid pic.twitter.com/80Mvkm0aDO
— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid) April 2, 2019
Perez today discussed the club’s plans to transform the Bernabéu into a “technological platform” that transforms the experience for fans. The revamped stadium will feature a 360-degree video scoreboard that is set to become one of the standout elements of the redesign.
The stadium will also feature a fixed and retractable roof and steel surround skin that will be capable of projecting imagery and illuminating the venue.
The club is expected to sign the necessary contracts to grant the project’s approval next week before work begins in the summer.
“Today is the definitive start of the countdown to launch an authentic architectural innovation in our stadium,” Perez said. “A Santiago Bernabéu stadium that will become a great avant-garde and universal icon.
“Located in the heart of Madrid, it will be the best stadium in the world. We are facing one of the great projects of the future for Real Madrid and, of course, for the city of Madrid.”
Perez added: “A new stadium will allow us to continue growing and it will be financed with the new revenues that the revamp will generate. The new Estadio Santiago Bernabéu will entail an important improvement for the club, but also for its surroundings. And it will allow Real Madrid to remain competitive in an increasingly difficult international football scene.”
In September, Real Madrid members gave the green light to a loan scheme for the redevelopment of the stadium. Perez said at the time that the club’s current financial strength means that it is an ideal time to take out the €525m loan for the work.
The club was granted full approval to develop the stadium in the summer of 2017, at which point the project was expected to cost around €400m.
Image: Real Madrid
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