Real Madrid: the New Bernabéu is starting to take shape
One of the spectacular steel trusses is now complete and the other almost finished. The building which houses the club offices is now demolished.
Work on Real Madrid's futuristic new stadium continues to advance at pace and now we are getting a clearer idea of how it will look. The website Nuevo Estadio Bernabéu, which specialises in charting the remodelling work, has shared some new photographs of the inside of the ground as well as the exterior. We get a view of the giant, steel trusses at the north end of the stadium, one of which is now complete while the other will be finished in the next few days.
This stage will involve one of the most complicated tasks of the project, if not the most complicated. The trusses are enormous, heavy structures - the square section of each voussoir measures 6 x 6 metres and is between six and 18 metres long. They vary in weight from 33 tonnes for the smallest and 213 tonnes for the largest. Moving these sections into place was a delicate task for the construction firm, but perhaps the hardest work is now out of the way. Construction work on the new roof also continues - the fixed structure will protect spectators in the stands while the retractable roof will cover the whole of the pitch.
Lower stand almost completely removed
Other work is also advancing. In the lower stand, the only one which has been removed, only a small section of the seating area remains in the north part of the ground. But where work has progressed the most is on the outside of the stadium. You can now clearly see the metal structures which will form the new towers. Both are on La Castellana side and will be equipped with ramps, escalators and lifts, replacing towers B and C.
Over on the other side, on Calle Padre Damián, there are two supports for the roof. The old towers on this side of the ground will be demolished and replaced with new ones. In few weeks' time, a new metal frame will be put in place and encased in concrete. The New Bernabéu will feature access points which will ensure quicker and easier entry, with the towers allowing for a large number of people to access and leave the stadium quicker even on the busiest nights.
Five-storey carpark
Also over on that side you can also see the underground carpark, located where the former shopping centre La Esquina del Bernabéu used to be. The carpark will have five levels, two more than the previous one, with 500 parking places including places for the Real Madrid team bus and the visiting team's bus. The adjacent building which once housed the club offices and Adidas store has been completely demolished. In its place, a new, three-storey office complex will be built - which will extend along the whole of the Padre Damián side of the ground.
Real Madrid have published a number of videos showing how work has advanced on their official web page. It is estimated that construction work on the new Bernabéu will be complete by mid-2022, but the way work is progressing, that deadline could be brought forward a few months to the end of 2021 or the start of 2022. The stadium will be fully functioning for the start of the 2022-23 season.