Boca Juniors planning bigger Bombonera – new stadium expansion plans leak

After last weekend’s unsettling quiet, the newly off-strike Liga Profesional de Fútbol wasted no time in clattering its proverbial saucepans and announcing it was back and louder than ever. On Tuesday, the first game since the stoppage – it was a long week indeed – Independiente and Unión welcomed us with a thrilling 4-4, the former going three goals down in the space of less than 40 minutes before somehow clawing something from the game in front of an incredulous home crowd. Sarmiento and Racing, on the other hand, may as well have stayed out on the picket lines rather than subjecting fans in Junín to a desperate goalless draw – the good, bad and the very, very ugly in one night of Argentine football. We missed you.

One of the most highly anticipated matches of this midweek round was San Lorenzo’s visit to the Bombonera, a site in which the Cuervo tend to fare better than most teams. They proved so once more on Wednesday by taking a hard-fought draw, cancelling out Santiago Ascacibar’s second-half opener through supersub Gregorio Rodríguez.

That last result aside, Boca’s venerable old home is a daunting place to tread, and it may be getting even more so in the not so distant future with the addition of up to 30,000 extra bostero voices on matchdays.

It must be pointed out that, as picturesque and iconic as the current stadium most certainly is, it is in desperate need of some TLC. Boxed in on one side by a row of houses whose owners stubbornly refuse to sell up – hence the peculiar vertical boxes that give the Bombonera its unique oddness – in its current guise there is very little room or opportunity for expansion. And when you have as many fans as Boca do, that causes a problem.

The current stated capacity of La Bombonera is roughly 57,000. A respectable number, sure, but dwarfed by the 282,000 members the Xeneize have on their books, most of which clamour for the chance to see their heroes in action on a regular basis. The recent overhaul of the Monumental, which has brought River’s home capacity up to 85,000,has also increased the need for work to begin in La Boca as the team is trounced by its rivals on a weekly basis at the turnstiles, with a corresponding financial impact to boot.

Boca’s fresh new project to renovate their beloved home leaked into the media this week. Planned features include an expansion which would take the capacity up to 80,000, including the addition of a fourth tier; a roof covering all four stands; and 18 elevators to facilitate access to the third and fourth tiers of the stadium. According to reports Juan Román Riquelme’s administration is already negotiating with the owners of the railroad tracks which run by one side of the ground to purchase the necessary lands, and that the new design would allow for a significant increase in capacity without having to buy out those pesky neighbours, long the sticking point for any plans.

We have seen plenty of ambitious proposals, all complete with fancy computer renders and eye-popping projections, over the years. Will this one finally get off the ground? According to reports work could begin on La Bombonera as soon as the middle of this year, with Boca facing temporary exile from their neighbourhood, beginning in 2027 when the most invasive renovation tasks begin.

Once (if?) completed, the club will boast one of the biggest and most modern stadiums on the continent. Already one of the most evocative, not to say ear-splitting venues to watch professional football anywhere on earth, prepare for La Bombonera to become an even more intimidating stop for visiting fans and players alike.