Just in time. Two weeks before the Spanish Cup final, in which Real Madrid and FC Barcelona will fight for the trophy, workmen have finished installing the turf at Estadio La Cartuja. With this, Seville's Olympic Stadium has officially ceased to be... an olympic stadium.

Two weeks to go until El Clasico

The pitch at Estadio La Cartuja is already fully covered with grass, which will have two weeks to take root before the trial by fire. This will come on April 26 at 22:00. That day, at Seville’s Olympic Stadium, as that is the venue's other name, Real Madrid will face FC Barcelona in the Spanish Cup final.

However, not everything is ready. The last chairs are being set up in the stands, the space between the new sectors and the turf needs to be conditioned, and the substitute benches need to be installed. The mystery until the end will be whether a dozen days will be enough to get the turf in perfect condition for such an important game.

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Seville’s (no longer) Olympic Stadium

The clash between the two best clubs in Spanish football history will be the first in the new configuration of the stadium, which is no longer an Olympic venue, as in order to supply a new level of stands, workmen lowered the playing area and removed the running track.

In this way Seville, a city with 700,000 inhabitants, has 3 football stadiums. In addition to the remodelled La Cartuja, these are Estadio Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán (43,751 seats), where Sevilla FC play, and Estadio Benito Villamarín (60,721 seats), home of Real Betis.

The new capacity of La Cartuja is a mystery. According to the project it was supposed to be 75,000 seats, but now there is talk of about 70,000. The exact number is of prestige importance - in play is the title of Spain's 2nd largest stadium, currently held by the Metropolitano - but surely it will be sufficient for Betis, who will be moving to La Cartuja in a few months' time for the duration of the rebuilding of the Villamarin. Sevilla FC is planning to do the same in a few years.

© Cruz y Ortiz Arquitectos | La Cartuja is the unofficial home of the Spanish national team, but will soon become the temporary stadium of Betis, then Sevilla, and in 2030 it will host the World Cup.