Estadio La Cartuja – design description

What does Estadio La Cartuja look like?

Estadio La Cartuja was opened in 1999. The facility was built with public money and the main impetus for the construction was the desire to fight for Seville to host the Olympic Games (the city applied for the Games in 2004 and 2008, but unsuccessfully each time).

The venue is located on the northern outskirts of the city and is one of three large stadiums in Seville – along with those of Betis (Estadio Benito Villamarín) and Sevilla FC (Estadio Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán). With a capacity of 57,619 spectators, it is also among the largest in Spain.

Both Betis and Sevilla FC prefer to play at their own venues, so Estadio La Cartuja does not have a permanent host. However, the venue has had the opportunity to host important sporting events, such as the World Championships in Athletics (1999), the UEFA Cup final (2003), Spanish national team games, Copa del Rey finals and Euro 2020 matches. The stadium also hosts a number of cultural events.

Does Estadio La Cartuja need an athletics track?

The stadium does not have the opportunity to host too many major athletics competitions, so the athletics track is often seen as a shortcoming. In 2018, renderings by Atienza Design became popular in the media, suggesting the removal of the running track and the change of the stands' layout to a football-specific one. The facility would become the new home of Sevilla FC after the redevelopment, but the club was quick to dismiss these reports, claiming it was not working on similar plans.

Will Estadio La Cartuja be one of the venues for the 2030 World Cup?

Estadio La Cartuja has been proposed as one of the venues for the 2030 World Cup. On October 11, 2023, FIFA officially announced the selection of Spain, Portugal and Morocco, who were also joined by Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay, where one game each will be played at the start of the tournament.

The Seville venue is one of 15 submitted from across Spain and one of two from Andalusia (alongside Estadio La Rosaleda in Málaga). The final list is likely to include 10 or 11 Spanish stadiums, so competition between venues is ongoing (the final selection of venues is expected in the summer of 2024). The proposed redevelopment makes Estadio La Cartuja one of the more certain candidates to be on the final list.

When did the plans to redevelop Estadio La Cartuja emerge?

In November 2023, it was reported that there were plans to redevelop Estadio La Cartuja in conjunction with the World Cup. The facility, as in the 2018 proposal, would lose the athletics track and gain a football-specific layout. With the addition of new rows, its capacity would increase to 75,000 spectators.

On March 14, 2024, the president of Andalusia, Juanma Moreno, presented renderings showing the appearance of Estadio La Cartuja after redevelopment (updated plans for the redevelopment of the other Andalusian candidate, Estadio La Rosaleda, were also shown on the occasion).

What does the concept for the redevelopment of Estadio La Cartuja entail?

The presented design involves some adjustments to the exterior, but the most important change is the removal of the athletics track, the lowering of the pitch and bringing the stands closer to the playing field. The extension of the stands will increase their capacity to 70,000 people (together with boxes, press seats, etc., it will be a total of 75,000 seats).

The stadium will lose its athletics function, although it will be possible to temporarily install a running track if necessary, as was done, for example, at Hampden Park on the occasion of the 2014 Commonwealth Games. Surprisingly, the initial quoted cost of the redevelopment is relatively low (€20 M).

When will the redevelopment of Estadio La Cartuja be carried out?

The reconstruction of Estadio La Cartuja is scheduled to begin on July 1, 2024, the day after Mexican singer Luis Miguel's concert. Work is expected to take eight months and be completed in February 2025.

What does the redevelopment of Estadio La Cartuja have to do with Betis' plans?

The plans for Estadio La Cartuja conflict with the previously announced project to redevelop Estadio Benito Villamarín. Betis had intended to start modernizing their stadium in the summer of 2024, which would have seen them move to La Cartuja for two years. However, as the redevelopment of La Cartuja is planned, Betis has announced a postponement of the redevelopment of its facility, which according to the new schedule is expected to begin in early 2025 and be completed in early 2027.

What other stadium projects are underway in Seville and across Spain?

The redevelopment of Estadio La Cartuja is one of three major stadium projects to be carried out in Seville in the near future (in addition to the redevelopment of Betis' stadium, Sevilla FC is also planning to build a new stadium on the site of the current Estadio Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán). The project is also part of the boom in stadium investment seen in Spain, particularly in the run-up to the World Cup and thanks to an agreement between LaLiga and the CVC Capital Partners fund.

What will the redevelopment of Estadio La Cartuja bring?

The redevelopment of Estadio La Cartuja will upgrade the facility and make it a more attractive venue for football competitions. As well as hosting the 2030 World Cup matches, the stadium will certainly have the chance to become a permanent venue for the Copa del Rey finals, and it is also likely to host the Spanish national team more often (some plans are even to give it national stadium status).

However, the venue will still not have a permanent host, although due to the redevelopment of their own facilities, both Betis (2025–2027) and Sevilla FC (2026–2028) plan to play at La Cartuja on a temporary basis in the near future and the plans for the stadium also serve these clubs.