The Olympic stadium ‘on the island’ will be rebuilt. Work will start imminently and the beneficiaries of this decision will not only be Real Betis and Sevilla FC, but also the Andalusian city itself. How much will La Cartuja change?

Football, concerts and... tennis?

Estadio La Cartuja is a less well-known venue compared to Mestalla or San Mamés. It does not host Spanish league matches and is an arena that hosts music artists more often than football. In recent years, it hosted several matches of Euro 2020. The Spanish national team played there mainly, but there was also a Round of 16 match between Belgium and Portugal.

The venue was inaugurated with a friendly international match between Spain and Croatia (3:1), played on 5 May 1999, and three months later it was the arena for the athletics World Championships. In May 2003, the UEFA Cup final match between FC Porto and Celtic Glasgow was played there. On two occasions, Estadio La Cartuja has been the venue for the final duels of the world's biggest international team tennis competition, the Davis Cup.

From 2020 to 2025, an agreement is in place to use the stadium as a final in Copa del Rey competition. In the 2023/24 season, the match between Mallorca and Athletic Bilbao that ended in penalty kicks was watched by 57,619 which gives the arena a 100% fill! Copa del Rey finals at La Cartuja are hugely popular with Spanish fans and, apart from the matches with a ban on entering the arena (2020 and 2021), the number of tickets sold has always exceeded 53,000.

© Junta de Andalucía

Important redevelopment

Work on La Cartuja will begin on July 1, after the Luis Miguel concert, the last scheduled event. The capacity of the stadium will be increased to 70,000 spectators by removing the athletics track and adding new stands instead. This will make the Andalusian stadium the fourth largest in Spain in 2025.

The change will not only benefit footballers and clubs, but also attendees of musical and cultural events held at the stadium. The removal of the athletics track and the addition of new stands will improve the atmosphere of the stadium. This will provide fans with a closer and more focused experience. In addition, improvements will be made to bring the venue's infrastructure to the next level.

This ambitious project, costing €10 million, will bring many long-term benefits to both the city of Seville and the sport. The increased capacity will put the stadium in an ideal position to attract major sporting events such as international matches, European finals and important concerts. This could translate into higher attendance in the stands and a greater economic impact in the city.

© Junta de Andalucía

Moving in Andalusian style

The finish of the construction coincides perfectly with the start of work on Estadio Benito Villamarin, so during the renovation period, Real Betis Balompié will use La Cartuja stadium as the temporary home of Los Verdiblancos. The period of redevelopment has been carefully planned to minimise disruption and ensure that the stadium will be ready to host major events as soon as possible. This solution will allow the Betis team to continue playing matches in Sevilla, guaranteeing continuity and offering fans the opportunity to continue supporting the team in proximity to the old venue. The planned move is estimated to take two years.

Moreover, La Cartuja will not be abandoned any time soon. Sevilla will also rent the stadium for the duration of the expansion of the new Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán. Los Nervionenses are planning to demolish the current stadium and build a new one on the same site, which could mean the move will take at least two years.

This redevelopment will help La Cartuja become one of the larger venues for the 2030 World Cup, which will be played on the Iberian Peninsula and in Morocco. Admittedly, there may not be enough seats to host the final, but the arena could become a venue no less important than the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, Civitas Metropolitano or Camp Nou, which is still being rebuilt.