President of the Regional Government of Andalucía, Juanma Moreno, has detailed how a redeveloped Estadio de la Cartuja would appear as a host venue for the 2030 FIFA World Cup, along with giving a fresh look at a reimagined Estadio La Rosaleda.
Seville’s La Cartuja and Malaga’s La Rosaleda are Andalucía’s two proposed venues for Spain’s co-hosting of the 2030 World Cup. In November, Andalucía detailed plans to make a €20m (£17.1m/$21.8m) investment in La Cartuja, with a view to transforming it into Spain’s “national stadium”.
The autonomous community’s Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sports, Arturo Bernal, said that the funds are designed to expand La Cartuja’s capacity up to 75,000 seats. The stadium has a current capacity of 57,600.
The intention is for La Cartuja to become a venue akin to Wembley Stadium in London, England or the Stade de France in Paris. Bernal said that €5m had already been invested in improvements after a project drawn up by Andalucía’s previous administration to demolish the stadium was scrapped.
Expansion to 75,000 seats would make La Cartuja the third largest stadium in Spain, behind Spotify Camp Nou in Barcelona and Estadio Santiago Bernabéu in Madrid. The stadium opened in May 1999 for Seville’s staging of the World Athletics Championships before closing in 2018 after the local authorities determined that its roof required costly renovation work.
The necessary work was subsequently carried out and in February 2020 a deal was struck with the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) for hosting rights to four editions of the Copa del Rey final, a contract that is currently in place until at least 2024.
Moreno has now shared renderings via social media of how La Cartuja would appear after a revamp, with its current athletics track being removed. ABC said work is expected to begin later this year, after the stadium’s sports events commitments are concluded.
The renovation project is expected to take eight months to complete, after which a stadium with a basic capacity of 70,000 seats will be complete, with the ability to rise up to 75,000.
In April 2023, Malaga City Council, the Malaga Provincial Council and the Regional Government of Andalucía detailed plans for a reimagined La Rosaleda.
The three bodies are the joint owners of the stadium, which serves as the home of third tier Primera Federación club Málaga CF. Plans to redevelop the stadium were presented by architecture firm Morph.
The revamp of the stadium would reportedly cost more than €70m. La Rosaleda has a current capacity of 30,044 and the redeveloped stadium would hold up to 45,000 fans. The new venue would feature covered stands, an underground car park, and new green spaces.
An expansion of the stadium’s capacity would require a new grandstand to be built on the existing structures, which would need a new circulation flow system to make access viable.
Writing on Twitter/X, Moreno said: “Andalucía has everything to be the scene of several matches in the 2030 World Cup! We present an ambitious proposal for the remodelling of our stadiums that aspire to be chosen as some of the Spanish venues.
“And La Rosaleda will shine like never before. Two renovated stadiums, with maximum performance that will leave a legacy of prosperity for the following decades. We are prepared to play an important role in the World Cup in Spain, Portugal and Morocco.”
