The Minister of Culture and Sports, Patricia del Pozo, and the President of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), Rafael Louzán, have visited the works at the La Cartuja Stadium, which are in their final stage in preparation for the Copa del Rey final scheduled for April 26th. The ongoing works, progressing according to the planned timelines, will increase the capacity of the sports venue to over 70,000 spectators, making it the third largest in Spain in terms of seating capacity, behind the Santiago Bernabéu in Madrid and the Camp Nou in Barcelona. It is set to become one of the key venues for the 2030 World Cup.
Patricia del Pozo has stated that, as of today, «all foundations and structures are 100% complete, and the grandstand has been fully assembled, pending only the installation of the prefabricated corner pieces, which will be completed by the end of this week.» Additionally, «the interiors – restrooms and bars – will be completed by the end of March, with those of the preference stand currently at 100%, while shortly after, in the first days of April, the seats will be fully installed, already visible in large numbers.»
Regarding the progress of the works, Del Pozo has indicated that, «with regards to the playing field and the turf, the installation of pumps and irrigation control has been completed, with the drainage currently underway, set to be completed in 10 days, after which the selected turf will be installed, with the placement expected to be finished by April 1st.»
The Minister Del Pozo highlighted that «the expansion of the La Cartuja Stadium’s capacity is a strategic commitment by the Government of Juanma Moreno, who transformed a stadium that was on the verge of being declared technically ruined by the PSOE into a benchmark among the major sports venues in Spain.» The second phase of the works to expand the grandstand at the La Cartuja Stadium has a budget of 15 million euros, with ten million coming from a contribution by the Andalusian Government in 2022 and the rest through financial leverage from the stadium’s management company.
After the visit, the President of the RFEF, Rafael Louzán, expressed his satisfaction, stating that «we are very reassured to see that the actions being carried out are on the right track and are meeting a challenging schedule.»
Louzán emphasized the support that Seville receives from the RFEF, mentioning that «Seville has the experience in organizing major matches and has our support to host some upcoming European competition finals, as well as matches for the final phase of the World Cup, which will also be held in another venue in this region, such as Málaga. The outlook is very promising for all of Andalusia.»
The Minister of Culture and Sports of the Andalusian Government, Patricia del Pozo, expressed her gratitude for the visit of the RFEF President. During the visit, they were accompanied by the President of the Andalusian Football Federation, Pedro Curtido, the Mayor of Santiponce, Juan José Ortega, the Director General for Sports of the Andalusian Government and President of the La Cartuja Stadium Society, Isabel Sánchez, the Sports Delegate of the City Council of Seville, Silvia Pozo, as well as the Urban Planning Manager of the Seville City Council, Fernando Vázquez, and other officials involved in the improvement works that will transform the venue into the largest capacity stadium in Andalusia next month, also entering the exclusive list of football stadiums with the highest seating capacity on a continental level.
