River Plate unveil plans to increase stadium capacity to 101,000 spectators

Club Atlético River Plate, one of Argentina’s most famous and storied football clubs, has announced a US$100-million redevelopment plan that will increase the capacity of its iconic Monumental stadium to more than 100,000 spectators.

In a video announcement delivered via social media, River unveiled long-rumoured plans to improve its stadium in Nùñez, Buenos Aires, confirming reports that a new stadium roof would also be added as part of the work.

The new proposed capacity – 101,000 fans, according to club authorities – would make the Monumental one of the largest football stadiums in the world.

Home of Los Millonarios since May 1938, the Monumental is an iconic venue. It hosted the final of the 1978 World Cup and regularly stages home matches for Argentina’s national football team. During the off-season, it hosts concerts and entertainment events, though capacity is normally reduced. 

An expanded capacity would increase ticket revenue and strengthen the club’s chances of hosting high-profile fixtures, concerts and large-scale shows.

The redevelopment forms part of a broader programme to modernise the ageing venue, improve the matchday experience for supporters and cement the Monumental’s status as one of the world’s most renowned sporting arenas, both in terms of capacity and facilities.

With its current capacity of 85,018 spectators, the Monumental is the largest stadium in South America. Once the expansion project is completed, it will have a capacity that places it among the largest venues in the world.

“This is a historic day, one that has precedents and a journey, and is part of a historical process,” said River President Stefano Di Carlo in a video announcing the news published on the club’s official social media channels.

Building work is expected to begin in April or May and last some three years. Structural changes will include “a perimeter structure of columns that will support an elevated 360-degree stand, comprising 16,000 new seats,” Di Carlo explained.

Di Carlo added that a roof will be installed that extends to the edge of the pitch and covers “almost all spectators.”

According to details later published on the club’s website, the estimated cost of the renovations “will exceed US$100 million” and will be financed through loans from international financial institutions and a new stadium sponsorship deal.

“The club will then be able to repay and meet the principal and interest on that loan using its own ongoing income generated by this new development,” Di Carlo explained.

Crucially, the infrastructure project will not prevent the team from continuing to play home matches during the works.

New season-ticket seats will be allocated to River members, he added, paying tribute to the club’s “socios” or members and their loyal support.

“They are the ones who support River at all times and who make it possible for River, as a non-profit civil association, to proudly say that it can undertake a project of this scale, sustained fundamentally – as it always has been – by the efforts of its members,” said Di Carlo.

– TIMES/PERFIL/AFP