Another blunder of the new Bernabéu that pleases opponents of Real Madrid's arena. Adding to the stadium's structural problems, in addition to acoustic troubles, is an ill-conceived facade that left the top floor of the museum flooded. To make matters worse, there are reports of big clubs trying to copy one of the flagship solutions of Florentino Peréz's gem.

Hollow facade

Fans of Spanish soccer are no stranger to flooding stadiums, as especially in the rainier regions in the north of the country, where heavy rains quite often flood stadiums, forcing clubs to postpone league games. This is the case in Vigo, for example, where up to several times a year pictures of knee-deep water appear in the locker rooms and at the gates of Abanca Balaídos.

The situation at Estadio Santiago Bernabéu is unique, however, in that the stadium wasn’t flooded by rainwater collecting on the ground, but by rain. The elongated metal plates that make up the facility's facade visually overlap, but they do not form a closed whole, instead leaving empty spaces between them. All it takes is for the wind to start blowing during heavy rainfall for rain falling at an angle to pour into the stadium.

© Madrid1902 | A shot from the video that captured the flooded museum at Santiago Bernabéu

Flooded exposure and tarnished reputation

A poorly thought-out facade led to flooding on the top floor of Real Madrid's museum in the second half of June, and the media circulated footage of a flooded part of the exhibition dedicated to, ironically, to the stadium's construction.

The material losses were apparently not too serious, but the club's management should be more worried about image losses. Many social media users, especially those unfavorable to Los Blancos, scoffed at the investment of more than €1 billion in the leaking stadium, accusing Real Madrid of partisanship.

Newspapers covering the case recalled that this is not the first time this has happened, as the leaks arose while the work was still in progress, but the situation was brought under control at the time. Real Madrid will have to react, however, because the flooding, in addition to uncontrollable noise and the court's halting of the transfer of a nearby parking lot to the club is another prestigious blow to a stadium aspiring to be the best modern sports venue in the world.

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Exclusive solution

One of the elements that makes Real Madrid's aspiring arena possible is a globally unique solution to the turf problem. The 25-meter-deep space under the playing area allows the turf, which is laid out in 6 giant trays, to be tucked away for non-football events, descending into the hypogeum in three hours which reduces to nothing the risk of damage to the surface during concerts.

El Mundo reported that major European clubs such as FC Barcelona are interested in the solution developed by Grupo Sener engineers, as it allows for an unlimited number of events. However, it turns out that Real Madrid's contract with the company includes an unconditional exclusivity clause for the technical marvel in the European market until 2035, and until 2050 the company can only implement it with the club's approval.

El Mundo asserts that the company's lawyers are looking for ways to get around these terms, but such a solution seems very unlikely. It is possible, however, that Grupo Sener will bring its novelty to the American continent, which is not covered by the clause. That's where the model of the multipurpose stadium open 7/365 comes from, so the likelihood of implementing such a solution on any future major project is high.

This news may have, rightly so, worried Los Blancos’ fans, but they will be comforted by reports from Spain. The media there are certain that the final of the 2030 World Cup will fall at the Bernabéu.

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