The stadiums of the future will be living beings

• This will be the new Bernabéu. Steel skin, retractable cover, 360 marker, restaurants and two new seats

The Spanish-British architect Mark Fenwick , whose study won the contest of three of the fields of the next World Cup in Qatar, in 2022, says that the stadiums of the future will be "living beings", places in permanent activity, not watertight spaces that only open match days In the stadium there are meetings and concerts are held, something that is already happening today, but also spaces are rented for business activities, classes are taught, bought and sold, and relationships are established, not only professionals. It should not only be the clubhouse and its fans, but also another division of the owner to generate income, with its own exploitation strategy and its income statement. There are several Spanish clubs that have begun to optimize the available spaces, but the conversion requires deep transformations with three clear objectives: profitability, digitalization and sustainability .

The Espanyol stadium, in Cornellà , was the first to carry out the Fenwick Iribarren study and where new spaces were planned for a business area. The Windoor company leased 1,500 square meters, in one of the goals, to install the first wind tunnel in Barcelona . The club enters 300,000 euros per year for 15 years, while attracting a large number of non-soccer visitors who can be loyal or become consumers of its store. The installation would have been unthinkable in the old stadium of Sarrià, enclosure of its property before moving temporarily to play in Montjuïc.

Spanish architects have planned numerous spaces for the use of the Qatari stadiums during the World Cup, but, above all, by the time the tournament ends. Legacy management is one of the major concerns of FIFA or the International Olympic Committee, although the interests of Qatar, without football clubs of the size and social mass of Europeans or Americans, are different. Profitability is not your problem. However, the Fenwick Iribarren study has carried out a revolutionary project for the World Cup with sustainability as its objective.

A detachable enclosure

It is a mountable and removable enclosure made with shipping containers, which will be installed in Doha Bay. A great idea for the organizers of World Cups or Olympic Games, but not for stable clubs, although the venues built by them will have to meet increasingly demanding standards in terms of sustainability, as large consumers of energy in a world that fights against climate change. The new San Mamés, carried out by César Azkárate's study, was the first to receive the qualification of sustainable building LEED by UEFA . In the future it will be a requirement.

The organization of a great championship, however, is a great opportunity for clubs to receive aid from the organizing committees with which to undertake reforms, as happened with the World Cup in Spain, in 1982. Having won the Eurocup nominations for 2004, which was held in Portugal, or at the 2018 World Cup, in Russia, would have found opportunities to reduce the costs incurred later.

Naming is another way used to achieve the necessary financing. Fly Emirates paid for the new Arsenal stadium, which bears his name, and Madrid signed an agreement with the sovereign fund Ipic, owner of Cepsa, to defray the works of the new Bernabéu in exchange for naming and the exploitation of other spaces that finally broke , which has forced the whites to seek long-term financing to undertake the works, already started, which will end in 2022. For its operation, the club went to the American company Legends, specialized in the exploitation of enclosures such as the Yankee Stadium or White Hart Lane, in London.

Finally, the new exploitation will not be possible without deep digitization. Apart from the connectivity requirements of the fans to transmit their experience in the stadium, the facial recognition cameras or the options to check the available parking , the adjacent traffic or even the food that can be purchased will require a greater bandwidth. Without data there is no security, no business.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

• sports
• soccer
• Real Madrid
• First division

LaLigaZidane maintains his faith in Bale: "It is very important, he has shown it and he will prove it"

LaLigaThe 'black Ibrahimovic' threatens the Bernabéu

LaLigaManu García, the last executioner of Madrid in Mendizorroza: "There is no feeling similar to that goal"