BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Argentine club River Plate plans to build a roof over the club. monumental stadium Expanding production capacity to over 100,000 people in preparation for 2030 world cupmaking it one of the largest soccer venues in the world.
Construction began in April and will take three years to complete and cost more than $100 million, the club announced Wednesday.
Opened in 1938, the 85,000-seater Monumental is located in Buenos Aires and is already the largest stadium in South America.
The venue will host matches during the 2030 World Cup, which will be co-hosted by six countries from three continents for the first time in history. From Europe, Spain and Portugal. and Morocco From Africa.
Argentina won its first World Cup title in 1978 at Monumental. It will also host the Argentina national team’s World Cup qualifiers.
River Plate said the additional stands would add 16,000 seats.
Currently, the world’s largest soccer stadium is Runrad May 1st Stadium in Pyongyang, North Korea, with a seating capacity of 114,000.
The monument project is being carried out by the German company Schleich Bergermann Partners, which is also involved in other projects such as Rio de Janeiro’s Maracana Stadium, Madrid’s Santiago Bernabéu and Metropolitano Stadiums, London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and Munich’s Allianz Arena.
River Plate president Stefano Di Carlo said the project would be financed by international banks and a new commercial agreement would also be signed to sell the naming rights to the stadium for the next 10 years.
“In particular, I would like to thank the 350,000 members of River Plate who are the architects of this historic moment and the architects of River Plate’s greatness for more than a century. They have made River Plate, as a not-for-profit organization, proud to undertake a project of this scale,” Di Carlo said in a message on X.
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