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Real Madrid's Board of Directors and Guests Watch a Screening of an Artist's Image of the Proposed New Stadium, Santiago Bernabeu, in a Presentation on the Stadium Renovation in Madrid, Spain, on Tuesday April 2, 2019. (Paul White / Associated Press)
MADRID – Real Madrid has announced that renovations to the Santiago Bernabeu stadium will begin at the end of the season.
The site, 72 years old, will have a retractable roof and a facelift remodeled to modernize its appearance.
The new model Bernabeu will also have a 360 degree video screen and a new seating section, although its home capacity should remain about 80,000 people.
"The new Santiago Bernabeu will be the best stadium in the world," Real Madrid President Florentino Perez said on Tuesday.
The reconstruction will last three to four years. The club said the work would not affect the team's home games because most of the hard work would be done in the offseason.
The first step will be the demolition of a shopping center that will become a public square near the stadium located in the upscale neighborhood of Chamartin in Madrid.
The corner access towers, one of the most remarkable features of the stadium, will be covered by the new steel façade once the work is completed.
Real Madrid had tried several times to redevelop its stadium, but earlier projects had been rejected by the city and court decisions. The club was not allowed to increase the total size of the structures already in place. He had to reorganize the current buildings by transferring office space to the base of the team in Ciudad Real Madrid, in the suburbs of the city.
Madrid started working on the stadium project in 2009. Three years ago, the club had stated that the goal was to complete the new stadium by 2020, with an estimated cost initially to 400 million euros (450 million dollars).
"The new stadium will allow us to continue to grow," said Perez. "This will allow Real Madrid to remain competitive in an increasingly difficult scenario in international football."
Perez said that since 2000, Real Madrid has invested more than 250 million euros ($ 280 million) in the stadium inaugurated in 1947.
The Madrid rival Barcelona has also launched a project to renovate the Camp Nou stadium, which will have a new roof and increased seating capacity.
Atletico Madrid inaugurated its new Wanda Metropolitano stadium in 2017.
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