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 of the La Cartuja Stadium, which are in their final stage in preparation for the Copa del Rey final that will take place on April 26th. The works, progressing according to the planned schedule, will expand the capacity of the sports venue to over 70,000 spectators, making it the third largest in Spain in terms of seating capacity, after the Santiago Bernabéu in Madrid and the Camp Nou in Barcelona, and positioning it as a key venue for the 2030 World Cup.
Patricia del Pozo has mentioned that, as of today, «all foundations and structures are 100% completed, and the stands have been fully completed, with only the installation of the prefabricated corners remaining, which will be finished by the end of this week.» Additionally, «the interiors – restrooms and bars – will be completed by the end of March, with the premium seating areas currently at 100% completion, and shortly after, in early April, the seats, already visible in large numbers, will be fully installed.»
Regarding the progress of the works, Del Pozo has noted that, «with respect to the playing field and the grass, the installation of pumps and irrigation control has already been completed, with the drainage currently in progress, set to be finished in 10 days, at which point the selected turf will be installed, with the completion of its placement scheduled for April 1st.»
Del Pozo emphasized that «the expansion of the La Cartuja Stadium’s capacity is a strategic initiative of the Government of Juanma Moreno, which has transformed a stadium that was on the verge of being declared technically ruined by the PSOE into a standout among Spain’s major sports venues. The second phase of the works to expand the stands at the La Cartuja Stadium has a budget of 15 million euros, with ten million coming from the Andalusian government’s contribution in 2022 and the remainder through financial leverage by the stadium’s management company.
Following their visit, RFEF President 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 adhering to a timeline that was not easy to meet.»
Louzán highlighted the support that Seville receives from the RFEF, mentioning that «Seville has the experience in hosting major matches and has our support to host some of the 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 for all of Andalusia couldn’t be more promising.»
The Minister of Culture and Sports of the Andalusian government, Patricia del Pozo, expressed gratitude for the visit from the President of the RFEF, who was accompanied during the visit 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 of what will soon become the venue with the highest capacity in Andalusia in April, also entering the exclusive list of football stadiums with the highest capacity at a continental level.