Football second? Why Real Madrid built a new stadium or the real reason behind the breathtaking renovation of the Santiago Bernabéu

Large sports stadiums around the world have been modernising for some time. The point of these renovations? It’s not just to make the stadium more modern or to accommodate more people anymore. Clubs, like Real Madrid, have realised that they can use their stand for other purposes. This was most notably the case in the planning of the Santiago Bernabéu.

The pinnacle of television rights

Clubs have to keep up with the times, which are relentless. Just look at the transfer sums of footballers, which increase year after year to enormous amounts. In order to compete, they have been building stadiums with higher capacity and signing new contracts with advertising partners.

However, television rights, which have grown at an unprecedented rate in this century, have also been a significant part of the club’s income. But nothing grows to the sky and by 2020 this rule no longer applies. So clubs have had to look for other ways to increase their profits.

This is doubly true for teams like Real Madrid and Barcelona at a time when clubs are being bought up by rich billionaires.

Football comes second

The same direction that Tottenham took was also followed by Real Madrid, who rebuilt their famous Santiago Bernabéu stadium for 21st century use. This is no longer just about football, but about American football, fairs and concerts, for example.

Finding a place where you can fit over 83,000 people is not easy. It’s just that for some concerts or NFL games there is such a demand. Even more so for the superbly located White Ballet stadium practically in the centre of the Spanish capital.

And that’s exactly what the new Santiago Bernabéu makes possible! There are several additional floors under the main area, which the technicians will quickly modify the surface to suit the upcoming event. Fancy a basketball duel, an American football match or a big concert? Within moments, the turf is retracted into the bowels of the stadium, where it continues to be maintained by the necessary equipment.

While revenues in 2023 were €150 million for Real Madrid, in 2024 the new stadium is expected to add around €300 million to the club’s coffers.

Real Madrid

The Real Madrid brand is the biggest in the world in the football environment. But the revamped Santiago Benabéu is no less important part of that entity. It will allow the management to further invest in new reinforcements and bring the club back to the top.

After previous great successes between 2016 and 2018, the downturn has come. In fact, in the last 5 seasons, the Madrid club has only managed to dominate the Champions League once.

Source: Real Madrid, Athletic Interest