Featured image credit: Matibro/CC BY-SA 4.0/Edited for size
Argentine Primera División football club Boca Juniors has made the first significant formal move as part of long-held ambitions to expand its stadium, by submitting a proposal to the Legislature of the City of Buenos Aires.
Estadio Alberto José Armando, more commonly known as La Bombonera, currently has a capacity of around 54,000, but Boca has long been seeking to change this. Club president, Jorge Amor Ameal, has now lodged a proposal with the City seeking the green light to pursue a project that would expand capacity to 82,000.
The ‘Bombonera 360’ vision requires the City to modify urban regulations concerning neighbouring streets to the stadium, potentially allowing Boca to work more decisively in acquiring properties in these areas that are currently stymying expansion plans.
Ameal said: “In addition to a sporting use, such as football matches, the incorporation of other commercial and cultural uses is expected, so it will be a modern stadium with multiple uses that will promote the development of the area.
“On the other hand, the location of a micro-stadium is proposed, where sports, cultural and commercial activities can be carried out, such as different events that will encourage greater activities in the sector.
“Lastly, it is established that the stadium environment be used for green spaces, perhaps two for public use and access control, as well as the installation of service areas that will benefit the integration of the new stadium with the urban environment.”
In recent years, many proposals have come to light to either expand the historic stadium, which first opened in 1940, or build a new home for Boca. Indeed, in April, Jorge Reale, a candidate to become the next president of Boca, unveiled a plan for a new 106,000-capacity stadium for the club.
Reale’s proposal was for a stadium to be built in the Isla Demarchi area of Buenos Aires, just 1,300 metres from La Bombonera. However, the latest news reinforces Ameal’s and the current Boca regime’s stance that the club should not depart from its current home.
Share this