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Sevilla engages Legends to weigh up stadium options

Spanish LaLiga football club Sevilla has appointed premium experiences company Legends to aid it in assessing future stadium options.

Sevilla has commissioned Legends to conduct a study, which has already commenced, to analyse all options. The club said this includes the extension and redevelopment of its current home, Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán, as well as the potential development of a new stadium.

To this end, Sevilla has said its members will be involved in the process. Legends, through the club, will contact a selection of current season ticket holders to gauge what they would like out of a new, or redeveloped, stadium.

Sevilla said in a statement: “These opinions, which will be made through an electronic survey via email, together with the market study that Legends is carrying out on the club and its facilities, will carry a lot of weight when making the final decision.

“Sevilla FC is aware that it is necessary to take a step forward as far as the stadium is concerned and encourages its members to participate in the most responsible and sincere way possible with their opinions and proposals. We continue to build the Sevilla of the future.”

Legends’ work in the Spanish marketplace includes Atlético de Madrid’s Wanda Metropolitano, while it has also been engaged in FC Barcelona and Real Madrid’s redevelopment projects for the Camp Nou and Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, respectively. Earlier this month, it was commissioned to lead the revamp of Stockholm’s Avicii Arena.

In July 2019, Sevilla outlined plans to add a third tier to its Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán, potentially expanding capacity at the stadium to around 60,000.

Sevilla revealed its intentions at a club meeting, stating that it was seeking to meet rising demand for games at the stadium, its home since 1958. The Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán has undergone a number of developments in recent years, with capacity rising from 42,500 to 44,000 for the 2018-19 season.

If Sevilla is to choose further redevelopment, it will have to meet the challenge of expanding around a constricted site at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán. The Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán originally had a capacity of around 70,000, with all fans standing at games.

This was reduced to 66,000 for Spain’s hosting of the 1982 FIFA World Cup, before UEFA regulations on all-seater stadia dropped capacity further to 43,000 in the 1990s.

Image: Sevilla FC