Video: NFL, NBA and tennis will be played in the world’s most modern stadium. When will the new Bernabéu open?

While the Champions League winners enjoy their well-deserved holiday, Real Madrid are working on the construction of a new stadium. The Nuevo Santiago Bernabéu will undoubtedly be the most modern stadium in the world and will also offer extra-football entertainment.

Santiago Bernabéu was first opened on 14 December 1947. Since then it has undergone several modifications, being renovated in 1982 and 2001, and expanded in 1952, 1992, 1994 and 2011. Its current capacity is 81,044 spectators.

In 2018, President Florentino Pérez decided to take a big step. He wanted to make the Santiago Bernabéu the most modern stadium in the world and therefore decided to rebuild it. This was helped by the wave of covid, when matches were played without fans, so Real played in the 2020/21 season at the training stadium in Valdebebas, which accelerated the construction of the stadium.

But now everything is slowly coming to a close. Thanks to the summer break, and the fact that La Liga has accommodated the club and they will play their first three away games (as they did last year), work can continue at lightning speed. And what exactly will make the new Bernabéu so special?

Because it won’t just be about football anymore. In addition to the usual concerts, the Real Madrid stadium will host American football, basketball and tennis matches. It is the latter two sports that will be able to take place at the same time, with a black wall separating the venues.

(Click on the arrow on the right side to see how all the fields will be arranged and how they will go in and out)

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Pérez’s main goal is that the stadium will continue to perform even when there are no soccer games being played. That’s why in the bowels of the Bernabéu you’ll find a shopping mall, several restaurants, and five of them will overlook the pitch. There should also be a Michelin-starred restaurant.

Another new feature is that the stadium’s capacity will also be expanded. It will jump from the current 81,000 to 89,000 spectators.

Opening

So when will everything be available to the public? The grand opening is set for 14 December 2022, the 75th anniversary of the opening of the stadium, which was then called Estadio de Chamartín. Real Madrid plans to christen the stadium with a match of legends both of the club and of football as a whole.

Los Blancos players cannot play their first match here as the World Cup in Qatar will be in full swing at that time.

But this is only a grand opening. It is expected that the stadium should be fully operational in spring 2023. Some sources say that everything should be done by the end of January, while others mention full functionality in the summer.

Source: Real Madrid, ESPN, AS