Real Madrid planning ‘the best stadium in the world’ with $600 million facelift

Ranked second in value behind Manchester United with a worth of over $4 billion, Real Madrid says its stadium renovation plan will help make it the “best club of the 21st Century.”

Granted permission to revamp the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu – first completed in 1942 and last updated in 1982 – Real expects the upgrade to bring in an extra $170 million per season.

According to the La Liga team’s president Florentino Pérez, the new ground will “be the best stadium in the world” and will recognize Real Madrid as the “best club of the 21st Century.”

“It’ll offer a new stadium, heritage and be a new source of pride for our members and fans,” said Perez.

The new design will include a retractable roof, which will close in bad weather.

The old structure will be wrapped in an LED covered titanium skin.

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Inspiration

Costing an estimated $600 million, the redevelopment will include a retractable roof, an Esports arena and a 360-degree scoreboard.

Work is set to start in April 2019, once the bidding process for construction rights is completed, and should take 36 months.

A titanium facade will wrap around the entire exterior, with the capacity to light up and project huge images of moments from Real’s glittering history. The club is the most successful in Europe having won the European Cup 13 times.

Volkwin Marg, head of the German architectural firm Gerkan, Marg and Partners that designed the new arena, had previously told CNN: “We were inspired by medieval cathedrals, with all their sculptures and paintings around the building telling their stories.”

The Bernabeu: Back to the future —

How Real Madrid's new stadium is set to look.

The Bernabeu: Back to the future —

A pedestrian circuit on the ground level of the stadium will give a pictorial and factual history of Real Madrid.

The Bernabeu: Back to the future —

State-of-the-art technology will allow the stadium's exterior to replay the greatest moments in the illustrious history of the 13-time European champions.

The Bernabeu: Back to the future —

German architect Volkwin Marg says one of the greatest challenges is to build such a stadium and complex within tight urban confines.

The Bernabeu: Back to the future —

The metallic structure will encase a retail area, in addition to restaurants, a hotel, a club museum and of course the stadium itself.

The Bernabeu: Back to the future —

Architectural firm Gerkan, Marg and Partners says the metallic skin will allow a changing perception of the arena by pedestrians 'depending on their position and movement.'

The Bernabeu: Back to the future —

On 27 October 1944, legendary Real figure Santiago Bernabeu broke the ground on what is now the stadium that bears his name (reportedly against his wishes). In the 35 years of Bernabeu's presidency prior to his death in 1978, Real won 16 La Liga titles and 6 European Cups.

The Bernabeu: Back to the future —

The Spanish football team bear their manager, Jose Villalonga, aloft to celebrate their victory in the 1964 European Nations Cup, when they beat the Soviet Union 2-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu.

The Bernabeu: Back to the future —

The Santiago Bernabeu Cup was named in 1979 after the Madrid president following his death.

The Bernabeu: Back to the future —

Pictured during the 1980s, the Santiago Bernabeu stadium reached a peak capacity of just over 120,000 in the 1950s -- although its record attendance, in 1956, was 129,690 for a European Cup semifinal against AC Milan.

The Bernabeu: Back to the future —

Formidable security was in place ahead of the 1982 World Cup final at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.

The Bernabeu: Back to the future —

The match was won by Italy, which beat West Germany 3-1 in the only World Cup final the Bernabeu has ever hosted.

The Bernabeu: Back to the future —

The Bernabeu has hosted four European Cup/Champions League finals. The most recent occasion was in 2010, when Diego Milito's brace helped Italians Inter defeat Bayern Munich 2-0.

The Bernabeu: Back to the future —

Inter fans ahead of the final.

The Bernabeu: Back to the future —

The view from the inside.

The Bernabeu: Back to the future —

How the Bernabeu looks today...

The Bernabeu: Back to the future —

...and how it will look in the future, with its retractable roof closed.

The Bernabeu: Back to the future —

Architect Volkwin Marg's company -- Gerkan, Marg and Partners -- designed stadiums for the last three World Cups and also worked on Warsaw's refurbished stadium for the Euro 2012 finals. GMP is working on the Bernabeu alongside Spanish company L35 Ribas.

Santiago Bernabeu: Back to the future

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The existing shopping center, the club shop and the club museum will all be expanded to boost annual revenue.

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In addition, a 215,250 square foot pedestrian zone will be created along the stadium’s west side to make the venue more accessible.

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Watch the video at the top of the page for a closer look at the new stadium.