The one thing Real Madrid don’t know about the new Bernabéu Stadium

Real Madrid has spent over a billion dollars on the incredible renovation of its iconic Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, and now at the start of the 2024-25 LaLiga season the works are almost finished and the newly roofed and expanded stadium is ready for a spectacular party for its grand inauguration.

And that’s the one thing Real Madrid don’t yet know... when will they will be able to organise a fiesta fitting for their newly redone home. Real Madrid’s packed schedule—made even more intense this year due to the sheer number of competitions the team is involved in—leaves no obvious available dates for such an event.

The team is currently vying for six titles, having already claimed the UEFA Super Cup just 10 days ago. As head coach Carlo Ancelotti noted last week, the date for the Intercontinental Cup remains uncertain, and he even questioned the feasibility of FIFA’s proposed Club World Cup in the summer of 2025, slated for June and July.

New Bernabéu inauguration was set for December 2022

Originally, the reopening of the Bernabéu was scheduled for December 2022. That date was chosen to coincide with the 75th anniversary of the stadium’s original inauguration (back when it was known as Chamartín, it first opened with a friendly match against the Portuguese club Os Belenenses, which Real Madrid won 3-1 in 1947). However, the COVID-19 pandemic that began in 2020, delays in the construction work, and the scheduling of the Qatar World Cup (held from November to December 2022, with the final on December 18th) pushed the reopening back indefinitely.

Since then, the relentless schedule has continued to delay the reopening ceremony. The stadium, which is nearly complete with only a few finishing touches left, will turn 77 this December… but when it will celebrate its anniversary—or its grand reopening—remains unknown.