The second phase of redevelopment is currently underway at River Plate's stadium. Estadio Antonio Vespucio Liberti, better known as El Monumental, will become the largest arena in all of South America thanks to the upgrade. The club has just shown new renderings of the stadium after the expansion.

The second phase of the modernisation of El Monumental (the official name of the venue has been Mâs Monumental since April 2022), located in the Argentinian capital, Buenos Aires, began in March 2022. Prior to that, an initial phase of the project was completed in late 2020 and early 2021, which included the removal of the athletics track and the lowering of the stadium's trough by 1.8 metres. This was followed by the construction of a new pitch, which gained an improved drainage system and a hybrid turf.

© Club Atlético River Plate

As part of the next phase of the redevelopment, new lower tiers of stands will be erected and new seats will be installed throughout the stadium. It is due to be completed in February 2023, when the lower tiers of stands on the north, east and south sides will be ready. The number of standing seats will be reduced, with only the lower tiers of stands behind the goals to be left after the redevelopment. This will increase the ratio of seats to standing places from the previous 55/45% to 79/21%.

The entire project is scheduled for completion in July 2024, at which point Mâs Monumental will reach a capacity of 81,000 seats, making it the largest stadium on the continent. The scope of the work is truly impressive, even though the redevelopment concept has been significantly scaled back from the ambitious plans presented at the beginning of the second decade of the 21st century. Neither the originally intended canopy nor the facilities surrounding the stadium will be built.

© Club Atlético River Plate

New visualisations of Mâs Monumental, published by the club, show that the stadium's auditorium will be kept in shades of grey. This is not a coincidental choice. The colour is intended to represent the brand's strategy to convey modernity and spaciousness, achieving a clean visual style. The grey of concrete will once again become the dominant colour in the stadium. The grey paint of the new seats also has a practical application, as it will save considerable money in the medium to long term. This is because the colour has a longer lifespan in outdoor stadiums, which are directly exposed to UV rays.

The club's new brand manual features grey in various shades as a complementary colour to the white, red and black, which represent River Plate. One shade of grey is taken as the basis for the total design of Mâs Monumental, following the trend of the most important stadiums in the world, such as Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Santiago Bernabéu, SoFi Stadium, Allegiant Stadium, AT&T Stadium and Arena da Baixada, among others - said River Plate president Jorge Brito at a press conference.

© Obras River Plate