New stadium gives Real Madrid a headache

MADRID – Real Madrid’s revamp of their historic Santiago Bernabeu stadium has become a problem for the Spanish football giants, with locals protesting against noise from concerts and the permanent construction works.

The stadium began hosting concerts again earlier in 2024 after it completed a years-long revamp that included an undulating metal roof, new lighting, shops, VIP areas and a retractable pitch.

The goal is to allow the venue, inaugurated in 1947 as a traditional football venue, to be used as a year-round, modern entertainment hub.

Pop megastar Taylor Swift and Grammy-winning Colombian singer Karol G are among the big names who have performed at the refurbished stadium owned by Real, whose president Florentino Perez is one of Spain’s richest men.

The wealthy Chamartin neighbourhood in northern Madrid where the stadium is located used to be quiet, except on match days. Now residents complain of noise during concerts and rehearsals that far exceeds legal limits, and of drunken concertgoers urinating in doorways.

Luis Eusa, a university student, said his grandparents’ apartment located across the street from the stadium “rumbles when there are concerts”.

“A lot of elderly people live in the neighbourhood, and they are not used to the noise so late in the evening,” he told AFP.

Angry residents of apartment buildings near the stadium have also put up banners on their balconies that read: “NO concerts”.

The stadium has gone from hosting some 35 events per year before the refurbishment to planning to host more than 300, according to the Association of People Affected by the Bernabeu, one of the neighbourhood organisations set up to fight against “the negative impacts” of the redevelopment.

The group argues that the refurbished stadium – which now has 85,000 seats, up from 81,000 – is not properly soundproofed and its new, powerful loudspeakers do not comply with noise regulations.

Real have taken out three loans totalling €1.16 billion (S$1.66 billion) since 2018 to renovate the stadium, with the aim of turning it into a major source of revenue.

Those plans may now be in jeopardy.

The club announced in September that they were suspending all concerts at the stadium while they try to resolve the noise issue.

Real said at the time that their goal “will always be that the stadium’s activities guarantee its commitment to the city of Madrid and are beneficial to its surroundings”.

Contacted by AFP, the club declined to comment further.

Gonzalo, a pensioner who was walking his dog near the stadium and did not want to give his last name, said residents doubt Real would keep their word.

“We don’t believe in Real Madrid or the city hall, they sold us that this would be wonderful and they have tricked us,” he told AFP.

Adding to the club’s woes, a Madrid court in September ordered a temporary halt to construction work on the stadium’s underground carpark and a tunnel to allow large vehicles such as trucks carrying concert equipment to pass under the stadium, following complaints over the concession contract for the project.

The underground carpark is being built on public land given as a concession by Madrid’s city hall, leading to accusations that Mayor Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida – a fan of Real’s cross-town rivals Atletico Madrid – had favoured Perez.

Part of the problem is that unlike most other stadiums, such as Atletico’s new Metropolitano located on a large esplanade on the outskirts of the Spanish capital, Real’s is very close to residential buildings.

“Football is on match day and that’s it,” said Manuel Amaro, 62, who has worked for the past nine years as a superintendent at a building on a street facing Real’s stadium, where the club’s fans often gather to drink beer before a game.

“Nobody is happy with the new stadium.” AFP