Abanca Balaídos – design description

Complete redevelopment of Celta Vigo’s Home stadium is expected to result in a football-specific, modern stadium with uniform and attractive architecture.

One major difference will be seeing the stands move closer to the pitch, particularly the north one expected to start 5 meters closer. But that said, vast majority of existing concrete structure will be retained.

Architecturally the big change will come from completely new roof, first time ever entirely built with steel trusses. Spanning over 25 meters, it’s expected to provide much better protection to people inside the stadium. Also, using lighter steel structure will provide room for skyboxes beyond the main grandstand.

In terms of aesthetics, all of the new roof will reach equal height regardless of varying concrete stand levels. From the outside the stadium will be covered with aluminum sheets forming 3m-wide panels waved individually. This way a dynamic flow impression will emerge for passers-by, mimicking the nearby Atlantic.

The project started with the redevelopment of the north stand, which was carried out between 2015 and 2017. This was followed (2017-2018) by the modernisation of the main stand. Between 2021 and 2023 the stand behind the goal on the east side was redeveloped. Finally, the stand on the east side remains.

The work on the main grandstand cost €5 million and on the south one €6.2 million. The cost of rebuilding the eastern arch is €18.5m. The total cost of the stadium redevelopment is estimated to be around €50m (compared to the original estimate of less than €30m).