UD Las Palmas' stadium is undergoing "urgent and necessary" changes to prepare the facility for the upcoming season and to avoid further sanctions for failing to meet La Liga standards. On the horizon, however, is a deeper redevelopment, the project of which has given the Canary Islands the hosting of the 2030 World Cup and will fundamentally change the Canarian arena.

Sensational sunrise, disastrous sunset

If one were to ask a Las Palmas fan after the first round how he assessed the club's play, he would say Revelation!. After all, after promotion to La Liga in the previous season, on seven occasions it was in 8th place in the table. But the same question asked at the end of the season would find a different answer. It is disaster, even the most ardent Unión Deportiva fan would have to say. The club has scored a record series of 8 defeats in a row.

It set a record because it's the worst streak of defeats scored by a club that was not relegated to Segunda as a result(in the 2014/15 season the same streak was scored by Eibar and it avoided relegation only because of to the relegation of Elche for financial irregularities).The points gained in the fall round helped avoid disaster. Now, while the staff and players focus on improving the game to repeat the results from the beginning rather than the end of the season, the Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Sports Department is focused on improving the stadium.

You can see how Estadio Gran Canaria compares to other LaLiga arenas in the 2024/25 season on our Youtube channel:

What's new under the Canarian sun?

The work, which was auctioned off in February, mainly involves installing LED lighting, as the current one is outdated. While this isn't a problem most of the time, as the islands don't complain about a lack of sunshine, it causes problems during late-night matches, as the lighting doesn't meet La Liga's requirements for broadcasting matches.

According to AS, this has already resulted in financial sanctions on more than one occasion. For this reason, Cabildo de Gran Canaria Sports Councilor Aridany Romero assured that the changes are urgent and necessary to bring the facility into compliance with the requirements.

The Sports Department has therefore allocated €1.4 million for the upgrade, for which 204 LED floodlights will be installed. 104 of them on the canopy of the main sector named Tribuna, 35 each on the two existing masts and 30 on the new one. The new lighting will allow for light shows, as in most modern stadiums. Structural defects, security, waste management and the electrical system will also be improved.

© Matt Rayns - Groundhopper

Big changes on the horizon

The club and the islands' authorities are already looking at a much more important upgrade that appears on the horizon. And the view is particularly pleasant, as in recent days the candidacy of Las Palmas to host the 2030 World Cup was unofficially approved . As we previously reported, it was the stadium redevelopment project that gave the non-obvious candidacy the momentum to overtake Balaídos, Nueva Condomina and Nou Mestalla in the race for the World Cup.

For €101 million the UD Las Palmas facility will undergo a real metamorphosis. The project will see the three smaller stands - Sur, Curva and Naciente - expanded to align with the Tribuna, creating an aesthetically pleasing, compact whole. This will increase capacity from the current 32,500 to 45,000 seats. To provide fans with better visibility, the playground will be lowered.

The canopy will be expanded and will cover all the stands (currently it only covers the main stand), and the exterior of the stadium will be covered with an elegant white facade. The reconstruction, according to preliminary assumptions, is expected to begin in July 2025 and last until June 2027. On top of the €101 million cost of the works, there is about €6 million for design development and construction supervision.

© Matt Rayns - Groundhopper