Disappointments, changes and new hope. That's how you can describe every season of Celta Vigo since the 2015/16 season, but also the ongoing redevelopment of the Balaidos stadium since even earlier. A seemingly simple but drawn-out project is finally to be finalised thanks to an agreement between the city and the provincial government.

A crazy centenary

The hiring of Rafa Benítez as coach, promising transfers and a breathtaking anthem to celebrate the club's centenary. At the beginning of the season a new hope arose in the hearts of supporters that Celta would fight to play in Europe almost nine years after finishing a historic 6. place in La Liga and reaching Europa League semi-finals.

However, reality quickly verified those expectations. Benítez, presented as a guarantee of stability for years, was sacked after nine months with a tally of 24 points in 28 games. Meanwhile, Balaidos had to replace the turf, destroyed after a Guns N' Roses concert, three times, and Carlos Mouriño stepped down as club president in favour of his daughter.

Celta was not, however, let down by their fans who, despite continued defeats, regularly came to Estadio Abanca Balaídos to support their favourites. The attendance for the 2023/24 season, according to Transfermarkt, was 20,039 fans per game, the best since the 2005/06 season.

The uncompromising support of the fans was finally rewarded with the arrival of Claudio Giraldez. The coach won the favour of Balaidos, where under his leadership Celta achieved 3 wins and 2 draws in 5 games, allowing the team to avoid relegation. After a crazy season, however, it is now time to look to the future and stabilise things.

© Miguel Ciołczyk Garcia

Nine years for three phases

One of the most important tasks for Vigo to stop looking like a continuous football makeshift is to complete the redevelopment of Balaidos. The stadium, which was built in 1928, has been waiting to complete its upgrade and get a La Liga-worthy look for nine years since work on the redevelopment began.

Since 2015, when the project was presented and funding secured, Marcador, Tribuna and Rio stands have been rebuilt. Not much for nine years of work. The south stand, called Gol, is still far away from the pitch (a remnant of the Olympic treadmill), has a concrete roof and is much lower than the others.

© Miguel Ciołczyk Garcia

The final phase will take... more than two years

On May 20, the Vigo city council and the Pontevedra provincial government signed a document committing to cover the costs of the final phase equally. It was originally planned that the cost of the entire stadium upgrade, ongoing since 2015, would be €30m. However, due to delays, the reconstruction of the Gol stand alone will cost €26.3m.

Interestingly, the last phase is expected to take as long as 26 months. It will result in increasing the capacity of the Gol sector from the current 4,000 seats to around 6,400, bringing the stands to a distance of 8.5 metres from the pitch (currently it is around 30 metres) and improving access.

Once the work on Gol is complete, Balaidos will have a uniform shape and all that will be left of the 'old' stadium will be memories and parts of the Marcador stand, which the city wants to distribute to Celta fans.

© Miguel Ciołczyk Garcia