The Spanish La Liga club giants Real Madrid shared the latest filmed video of the renovated iconic Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. Los Blancos fans are really close to experiencing the futuristic stadium.
Real Madrid just played their first home game in the 2023–24 season. In September 2023, Los Blancos hosted Getafe CF in the La Liga encounter, which they won 2-1. It was the first soccer match at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium after 90 days when the stadium was busy with renovation.
🏟✨ Santiago Bernabéu 🎥 pic.twitter.com/zjhJCiiy9q
— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid) September 2, 2023
The redevelopment at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium started in 2019. Due to the interior work, Real Madrid played the entire 2020–21 home season at the Alfredo Di Stefano ground. Los Blancos returned to the Santiago Bernabeu at the beginning of the 2021/22 season, and they have continued the home matches at this venue since then.
Though the renovation was planned to be completed in 2022, the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine delayed the completion of the redevelopment project. The modernization of the stadium is likely to be completed in December 2023. According to a report by The Athletic, Madrid took a first loan of $650 million with a fixed interest rate of 2.5 percent for 30 years. Merrill Lynch and JP Morgan provided the first loan.
Later, the club received the second loan of $255 million with a fixed interest rate of 1.53 percent for 27 years. JP Morgan and Bank of America allowed the second loan. Counting the interest, Santiago Bernabeu’s redevelopment will cross $1.10 billion.
Why is the renovated Santiago Bernabeu special?
Santiago Bernabeu Stadium was opened in December 1947. The 75-year-old stadium has already experienced many great events, including the European Championship 1964 Final, the FIFA World Cup 1982 Final, four European Cup Finals, the Copa Libertadores 2018 Final, some memorable concerts, etc.
At the end of the ongoing renovation, the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium can hold around 85,000 spectators in a match. However, the redeveloped stadium will be world-class for many reasons, including a retractable roof, retractable pitch, etc. Some of the crucial points that will make the renovated stadium very special are as follows.
- A completely new façade
- A retractable roof
- A retractable pitch
- A 360-degree video scoreboard
- A new underground car park featuring 450 spaces
- An access tunnel
- A new stand
- Expanded club museum
- Premium shopping mall
The pitch removal system at Real Madrid’s new stadium is an engineering masterpiece 🤯 pic.twitter.com/L29fIE9C9b
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) August 29, 2022
Real Madrid is eyeing to utilize the redeveloped stadium in the maximum possible ways. Apart from soccer matches, the revamped stadium will also host NFL games, tennis, basketball, other sporting events, concerts, etc.
In May 2022, Real Madrid signed a contract with Legends and Sixth Street. Legends and Sixth Street will handle the stadium operation in exchange for almost $380 million. The Spanish club reportedly expects to generate more than $160 million in revenue per year from the renovated stadium.
