This will be the New Romareda: 148 million euros and 43,000 spectators to meet FIFA's demands and become the venue for the World Cup

Ismael Poveda Zaragoza

Saragossa

Updated Monday, April 8, 2024-15:18

• World Football 2030, a certainty and many doubts

• Sports In which Spanish cities will the 2030 World Cup be played? Many candidates for few chosen ones

The

New Romareda

begins to see the light. Through an expenditure of more than 148 million euros, the Real Zaragoza stadium will undergo a complete remodeling of its structure which, based on FIFA requirements, will allow an expansion of the capacity to 43,000 spectators and places the Aragonese capital in the race to become one of the venues for the 2030 World Cup.

"After 20 years with the intention of renovating the stadium, Zaragoza will have an iconic architectural project, which will establish a 21st century football cathedral in our city. It will be a completely renovated space that will allow it to host any national and international competition," he explained. the mayor of the city, Natalia Chueca, who trusts that the deviations in the budget will be "minimal" until the definitive closure of the project.

The works will cause the relocation of thousands of subscribers, who will see how they lose their seats during different phases of the construction. Even so, Chueca has assured that "the attendance of between

20,000 and 21,000 spectators

will always be guaranteed

", although he has acknowledged that "we are already working on preparing different alternatives that do not affect the club's social mass too much, in case of that we have to play several days in another venue". Real Zaragoza will meet this week with LaLiga representatives to explore a possible 'Plan B' in case the club cannot play at the Romareda as a result of the work.

View from one of the VIP areas of the Nueva RomaredaSociedad Nueva Romareda

The stadium, which "is called to become a symbol of the entire city and the entire autonomous community," is designed by the consulting firm IDOM, whose architectural team is led by

César Azcárate

, and will rise on five floors above ground, with a height greater than 31 meters, and two basements in which the changing rooms, press rooms, offices and several Hospitality areas will be located, one of the main requirements of FIFA to consider the stadium as a possible venue for the World Cup event.

For its part, on the five floors, in addition to access to the stands, different VIP areas will be established, a 360° terrace located on the fifth level, and flexible rooms for holding different events other than football, since, as has been achieved with the construction of other sports stadiums such as the

Santiago Bernabéu

, the city council and the club intend for the Nueva Romareda to host concerts, conferences or any other type of activity every day of the year.

Terrace 360 ​​proposed in the Nueva Romareda projectSociedad Nueva Romareda

Finally, the façade of the building has been molded from the cierzo, the northwest wind that affects the Aragonese capital so much as it passes through the Ebro valley. Thus, as Azcárate explained, "the exterior figure is eroded, drawing concave and convex shapes, providing diverse visuals and perspectives to the volume, and generating protection from the currents to the west and views to the east." The cover, in turn, will cover 100% of the surface of the stands, extending to the outside of the stadium.

Construction phases

In principle, the construction of the project will be divided into five phases and will extend over the next four years. The first of them will begin on July 7 and will involve the demolition of the old Urban Planning Management, the "El Cubo" building and the south stands of the current stadium. From there, it will continue until the summer of 2025, with the excavation of basements in that area of ​​the South Gol, the foundations and supports, and the erection of the new structure. These works, which are in the bidding phase, have a budget set at

5 million euros

.

After that, the second phase will arrive, with the demolition and new construction of the East Grandstand until the summer of 2026, when phase 3 will begin, in which the current Preferential Grandstand will be eliminated and the one corresponding to the new stadium will be built. In 2027, phase 4 will begin, in which the same will be done with the North Goal and which will give way to the final stage of construction, where work will be done on the roof and other elements until the conclusion and inauguration of the New Romareda in summer 2028.