Images: IDOM
Estadio Gran Canaria needed to complete its unfinished infrastructure and improve its atmosphere, so LaLiga club UD Las Palmas launched a restricted competition for projects that would allow its fans to live the football experience more intensely and broaden its offer beyond purely sporting aspects.
IDOM’s proposal for the stadium went a step further and saw this as an unbeatable opportunity to project the local identity of Gran Canaria in an international way.
Last month, it was announced that L35 Arquitectos had won the design competition to redevelop Estadio Gran Canaria.
Although IDOM was unsuccessful in its pitch, the company has shared details of its design proposal, which was based on the key elements of the island’s specificity, such as climate, sun and light, history and local culture. The design sought to create a new space that reflected the essence and way of life of the Canarian people: a friendly, open and multi-cultural people.
“Although our proposal was not selected, we are very proud of the team’s work and the result,” said César Azcárate, director of sports and events at IDOM.
IDOM’s idea was clear: to create a place that would honour the stadium’s heritage, but also look to the future with a desire to open up to the world and become a new dynamic space for society.
And, of course, to respond to the original need. Thus, on the one hand, the reform of the stands was proposed to create a more compact football stadium with a great atmosphere. On the other hand, this compactness would make it possible to cover all the stands and extend the protection beyond the stands to the main public spaces, making them comfortable and promoting the culture of outdoor life and shelter in the shade.
Finally, IDOM proposed to transform the existing circulation areas and open them to public use all year round, integrating the stadium into the daily life of the community and creating new economic opportunities.
Another fundamental aspect of the design was the integration of sustainability under the principles of rationality, containment and less building spaces. This approach was embodied in strategic decisions such as maintaining the original level of the playing field and limiting interventions in the lower bowl to a controlled re-profiling of the existing structure. This single renovation measure alone would have increased the capacity of the stadium by 4,000 spectators, drastically reducing the need to build new stands and thus minimising the environmental impact.
In addition, the design further optimised resources by converting underutilised spaces, such as outdated press areas, into high value-added VIP and hospitality areas. These actions reflected a commitment to ambitious and specialised adaptation, prioritising the intelligent reuse of existing infrastructure over indiscriminate expansion and new construction. This consolidated a vision that balances innovation, efficiency and respect for the built heritage.
IDOM’s proposal for La Pintadera prioritised the landscape and the neighbourhood, transforming the space into an urban park with shaded areas for outdoor activities. It would have acted as a green corridor that connected infrastructures and revitalised the environment. On non-event days, which account for 80% of the time, it would have become an everyday space that promotes social cohesion and the well-being of the neighbourhood.
The project sought to protect local culture and community identity, in opposition to models that based development on the creation of commercial galleries.
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