Little by little, the new Romareda is taking shape. According to those responsible, the construction of the new Real Zaragoza stadium in the Aragonese capital will cost 148.5 million euros (about 180 million with the application of VAT) and will have capacity for just over 43,000 spectators, a requirement that It will allow us to bid to be one of the venues for the 2030 World Cup. Work will begin in July and is expected to be completed over four years.
“We will have an iconic architectural project, which will establish a 21st century football cathedral in our city,” stressed during the presentation this Monday, the mayor, Natalia Chueca, who presides over the commercial company created in equal parts by the City Council, the Government de Aragón and Real Zaragoza to build and manage the future stadium.
The cost advanced today represents an increase with respect to that included in the preliminary project presented in May of last year, where it was mentioned 140 million. “We trust that the deviations will be minimal from this budget,” said the mayor. FIFA’s demands to host World Cup matches have also led to an increase in capacity from the initially planned 42,500 seats to the current 43,184 (almost 3,000 VIPs), although the final figure could still vary.
The person in charge of the project is the architect César Azcárate, from the firm IDOM (in charge of the new San Mamés stadium or the latest renovation of the Camp Nou), whose aim has been to create a stadium with an avant-garde design, “modeled by the cierzo” -for which they have proposed concave and convex facades that will help protect it against the wind-, in which the recommendations of national and international football institutions are followed and commitment is made to accessibility, sustainability and energy efficiency.
The new building will rise on five floors above ground, with a height of more than 31 meters, and two basements. Floor -2 will be the level at which the playing field will be found. In addition to the stands, hospitality areas, ticket offices, the club’s official store, the museum, a media room and different VIP areas will be established on these five floors. The fifth floor will be crowned with a 360-degree outdoor terrace with views of the city.
“It is designed to operate 365 days a year. We will be able to host large concerts (or other events) that until now have been bypassing Zaragoza due to the need for a venue with capacity for 40,000 people,” said the councilor.
The first phase is scheduled to start on July 8, after an already scheduled concert by Enrique Bunbury, at which time the annexed management buildings and the Cube will be demolished, as well as the south stand, which will be rebuilt during the coming season. .
Although they will try to minimize the inconvenience, the works will progressively affect the thousands of subscribers (29,000 this season) that the club has. In this sense, Chueca assured that “it will always guarantee the attendance of between 20,000 and 21,000 spectators”, and that work is being done on the preparation of different alternatives that do not affect the spectators too much in case several days have to be played at another venue. This possible ‘Plan B’ will be one of the topics that Real Zaragoza will address in its meeting on Wednesday with LaLiga representatives to plan the next season.
In the city there are few who doubt the need for a new stadium. The last major renovation took place four decades ago, for the 82 World Cup in Spain, and currently the venue has a very dilapidated appearance with loose cables, peeling walls and rust everywhere. A general feeling of decrepitude that is not in keeping with the track record of one of Spain’s historic players who is going through his particular journey through the desert after 11 years in the Second Division that next year, with the help of the historic Víctor Fernández, will try to put an end to it once and for all. for all with the background works.