Nuevo Estadio Municipal Antonio Lorenzo Cuevas – design description

How did plans to build a new stadium in Marbella come about?

In 2018, the sports agency Best of You, on behalf of a Chinese investor, took over the management of Marbella FC. The new owners had ambitious plans not only on the sporting field, but also in terms of infrastructure development. In July 2020, the striking design for Marbella's new stadium was officially unveiled. The arena was to have a football-specific layout and a capacity of 18,000 spectators.

The facility was to stand on the site of the existing Estadio Antonio Lorenzo Cuevas. The stadium would be equipped with a retractable roof over the pitch, a solution unheard of at venues of this scale. On the representative western side, the plan was to build a structure with commercial functions, shaped like a modern yacht or cruise liner. As it later turned out, however, the ambitious design remained only in the realms of planning.

To make matters worse for the club, on May 23, 2021, Marbella FC beat Yeclano Deportivo 3-0 in their final match of the season, but this was not enough to keep them in the third division, where they had played since 2014. Due to a reform of the competition, the team ended up in the fifth division straight away. In addition, a section of the stands subsided during the match, resulting in two fans suffering minor injuries.

The incident caused the local authorities to close the stadium. Following an expert assessment, it became apparent that the facility needed a major upgrade. In August 2021, the mayor of Marbella Ángeles Muñoz announced that the stadium would be demolished and a new facility planned to be built in its place.

How was the concept for Marbella's new stadium chosen?

On February 10, 2022, the city launched a competition for the architectural concept of the new stadium. The specifications set a capacity of 8,000 spectators, plus an athletics hall and car parks were to be built alongside the stadium. The budget set by the city was €19 million, of which €18 million was to be used to build the stadium and €1 million for the design work.

Eleven proposals were submitted for the competition, of which six were shortlisted for the final phase. The results were announced on July 14, 2022, and the winning concept was that of the Huete Arquitectos studio, which was invited to produce design documentation based on its own idea.

From an initial, rather low figure of €18 million, the estimated investment cost later rose to a minimum of €114.3 million. The number of seats in the stands was also increased from 8,000 to 10,000. In addition, the stadium is to serve as a support facility during the 2030 World Cup.

What will the new stadium be like for Marbella FC?

The stadium is to have a compact, rectangular arrangement of stands, which will be noticeably higher along the pitch. The auditorium will be covered by a roof and covered with a white façade. Behind the south stand will be an athletics hall with a 200-metre running track and stands for 1,200 people. Its south wall will be glazed, allowing passers-by to see inside. The roof of the arena will have a large plaza and there will be 960 parking spaces around the facility.

When will the new stadium in Marbella be built?

In early 2023, it was announced that the costs associated with the construction of the stadium would be covered by the club with the help of its partners. The original plan was to demolish the old facility in 2023 and build the new stadium in 2024–2025, but later 2026 was cited as the completion date. The patron of the new stadium, like its predecessor, is to be Antonio Lorenzo Cuevas.