Santiago Bernabéu renovation plans given the go-ahead
Madrid City Council has partially approved the club's proposals for renovating the stadium but has rejected plans to construct a hotel and shopping centre.
Real Madrid and Madrid City Council have reached an agreement over the €400 million renovation of the Santiago Bernabéu, according to reports by national radio station Cadena SER.
Check out the images of the new stadium.
Plans for the new Bernabéu partially approved
The Council, led by Mayor Manuela Carmena, has partially approved the club’s proposals but has rejected plans to construct and integrate a hotel and shopping centre into the facility, two new features that club President Florentino Pérez was keen to include in order to boost the stadium’s money-making potential.
The club has, however, received approval for the construction of a retractable roof over the stadium, a plan which has been in the works since 2004. The façade out to the Paseo de la Castellana, Madrid’s most iconic avenue, will be renovated and the space currently used as a car park in front of the stadium will become a large pedestrian square where fans can roam freely.
Goodbye to the iconic towers
According to Cadena SER, the plans could also involve demolishing the four towers in each corner of the ground. Built at a similar time to those at the San Siro in Milan, the towers currently provide access for fans seated in the higher tiers of the stadium (around 20,000) and have gained iconic status over the past twenty years or so.
The Members’ Assembly: delayed
Uncertainty over whether or not the plans for the ‘new Bernabéu’ would be given the go-ahead has led the club to push back the Annual Members’ Meeting, traditionally held in September. The meeting is now scheduled to take place on the 23rd October, the day that Real Madrid take on Athletic Bilbao at the Bernabéu.