Construction report: Stadium and arena projects in Europe

Whether it’s Manchester, Milan or Madrid – Europe has a lot to offer in terms of stadium and arena infrastructure. Many projects are currently being implemented. The trend towards increased multifunctional use of venues continues unabated.

The European stadium landscape is, of course, still dominated by the projects of the clubs from the top leagues. In Madrid, the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu is due to be completed before the turn of the year, while the Spotify Camp Nou is in the middle of demolition mode. In England, Manchester City are planning to modernise and expand their home ground, Chelsea FC is facing a total rebuild of Stamford Bridge and in Liverpool, both LFC and Everton FC are in the middle of the construction phase of their respective projects. In Italy, both Milan and Rome clubs presented advanced stadium projects, but are now back in the stage of uncertainty.

The venerable Camp Nou, home of FC Barcelona, is being transformed into a modern football temple.<br />Image: FC Barcelona

The venerable Camp Nou, home of FC Barcelona, is being transformed into a modern football temple.
Image: FC Barcelona

Germany, on the other hand, is concentrating primarily on the upcoming EURO 2024, but in the “second row” the next generation of stadiums is already getting ready for the future. With the Merck Stadium at Böllenfalltor in Darmstadt and the BBBank Wildpark in Karlsruhe, two ultra-modern stadiums already saw the light of day in 2023.The next in line is 1. FC Nuremberg, which wants to launch an ambitious redesign project for the stadium and its surroundings – the cost of the total reconstruction of the Max Morlock Stadium alone: 230 million euros.

Multifunction without athletics?

What all the stadium projects (especially the big ones) have in common is that they are to be used even more as multifunctional venues in the future. As is well known, the Santiago Bernabéu is getting its own flexible turf system especially for this purpose, which can stow the pitch in the basement for non-football use, where it can continue to be lit and even sprinkled with water. In Madrid, one can thus imagine that tennis, American football or concerts will also take place in Real’s stadium in the future.

The demarcation between stadium and arena is becoming increasingly blurred. The obvious loser seems to be athletics, which is often “kicked out” due to the high space requirements. (STADIAWORLD, 23.08.2023)

The full article can be found in the new SPORTS VENUES 2023/24, including data on various construction projects in Europe (stadiums and arenas). Click here to go directly to the article. Also in the yearbook: the construction report for various other countries, continents and events, a portrait of the Arthur Ashe Stadium, the Tech Report on the most important trends and topics in the industry as well as a variety of interviews.

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