The Minister of Culture and Sports of the Junta de Andalucía, Patricia del Pozo, has visited the La Cartuja Stadium in Seville, where the expansion works of the Andalusian sports venue are being finalized, increasing the seating capacity from 52,000 to over 70,000 net seats for fans.
Del Pozo stated, «The installation of both the turf and the new stands will be fully completed next week, before Easter, in time to host the major Spanish football event, the Copa del Rey Final on April 26, featuring FC Barcelona and Real Madrid.»
Media outlets that have visited the La Cartuja Stadium have been able to firsthand witness the progress of the works. Del Pozo emphasized that «the final touches are being made to the civil engineering works around the turf perimeter, as well as the vomitories of the lower stands, which complement the turf installation. Also, interior cladding, public restrooms, player tunnel, and other indoor areas are being completed, ready for final cleaning next week.«
Patricia del Pozo also pointed out that «we are thus meeting, five years in advance, the FIFA requirement for this sports venue to become a landmark for the 2030 World Cup, with the capacity to host matches of the major national team competition. This project involves an investment of 15 million euros, with 10 million contributed by the Junta de Andalucía in 2022 and the remainder through financial leveraging by the management company of the La Cartuja Stadium.»
Finally, the minister highlighted that «yesterday (April 3) the turf sodding began, scheduled to be completed by early next week (April 7), before the finalists’ visit. In just 24 hours of work, about 1,500 square meters of the 8,800 square meters of turf have already been installed. Additionally, the installation of the new seats is currently at 80%, with completion scheduled for the end of next week. In other words, next week will see the completion of the most visible operations of the project, the playing field and the new stands, leaving only more specific tasks.»
In light of the increased seating capacity, the number of access turnstiles has also been raised, with the installation fully executed and currently in operation and service. There has also been intervention in optimizing the sports lighting, prompted by the change in the playing field level. After the necessary modifications, including the removal and extension of the selected luminaires in the calculations, on Monday, April 7, the lights will be adjusted to ensure the required uniformity and power for broadcasting.
Regarding the playing turf, with a total area of 8,800 square meters, requiring the use of 21 trucks for transport, a mixed variety sod of 60% poa and 40% ryegrass has been selected from Tapiz Verde company’s Los Llanos estate in La Herguijuela, near Plasencia.
Three weeks ahead of the Copa del Rey Final, cleaning works have already begun on the stands and in areas where the actions are fully completed. Interior signage works have also been completed, and the telecommunications and internet network is installed and in its final testing phase. On Wednesday, April 9, the player and referee benches will be installed.
The entire expansion work of the La Cartuja venue stands is being executed and finalized with a team of over 60 technicians and 500 workers, who have worked in double shifts to ensure everything is perfectly finished and fully operational.
Lastly, it is worth noting that, in collaboration with the Seville City Council, a resurfacing of the southern access to the La Cartuja Stadium has been scheduled for the week of April 14, along with the refurbishment and cleaning of the surrounding area.
