The Argentine professional football team Club Atlético River Plate, the four-time Copa Libertadores champions, has announced an expansion of their famous home facility El Monumental in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
‘THE SUN’ stated that the red and white revamp will expand its capacity by 16,000 taking it to a whopping 101,000 people.
The Club Atlético River Plate is an Argentine professional sports club based in the Belgrano neighborhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It plays in the Liga Profesional, the highest level of the Argentine football league system.
The 85,018-capacity El Monumental, currently known as Mâs Monumental for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Located in the Belgrano neighborhood it serves as the residence of Club Atlético River Plate.
The Copa Libertadores is an annual continental club football competition organized by the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in South American club football.
Luque (Paraguay)-based the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) is the continental governing body of football in South America and it is one of FIFA’s six continental confederations.
‘THE SUN’ further stated that El Monumental will become the second largest stadium in the football world behind Rungrado 1st of May Stadium in North Korea which can accommodate 114,000 spectators.
The stadium, built in the 1930s, has been dubbed ‘the Colosseum’ for its striking circular architectural design seemingly inspired by the Roman monument.
With recorded crowds averaging more than 85,000 spectators per match River Plate finished 2025 as the most-attended football club in the world.
The current capacity of 85,018 people hosts numerous sellout crowds across 16 home fixtures meaning River Plate welcomed more than 1.36 million fans during the year.
In a video posted on Instagram, River President Stefano Di Carlo said of the capacity increase, “It is a historic day. River Plate continues its path of modernization, growth and historic leadership in sports infrastructure consolidating the stadium as the largest and most important in the Americas and a global benchmark.”
The Argentine giants are working with the specialised roof engineers, SBP, who have been involved in many huge projects, like the 62,850-capacity Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, UK, the 75,024-capacity Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, and the 84,000-capacity Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid, Spain.
Construction will begin with the German company in April 2026 and will be completed in time for Argentina co-hosting the 2030 World Cup. It is expected to cost more than £72million.
Stuttgart (Germany)-based Schlaich bergermann partner (sbp) is a renowned German independent consulting engineering firm specializing in lightweight, long-span roof structures, bridges, towers, and solar power plants.
The 2030 FIFA World Cup™ will be the 24th FIFA World Cup™, a quadrennial international football tournament contested by the Men’s national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament will be jointly hosted by Morocco, Portugal and Spain. It would be the first across the Mediterranean Sea. In honor of the 100th anniversary of the first FIFA World Cup™ in 1930 a special match and centennial celebration will be held at the 60,235-capacity Estadio Centenario in Montevideo, Uruguay – host stadium of the 1930 final as well as one match each in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Asunción, Paraguay.
The finances of the Argentine club will not be affected as the project will be funded through international loans which will be paid with River’s own revenue.
The Estadio Mâs Monumental hosted the 1978 World Cup Final where Argentina beat the Netherlands 3-1 to claim their first title.
The stadium hosts the intense Superclásico between River and the Argentine professional football club Boca Juniors, and has staged multiple Copa América and Copa Libertadores finals.
Copa América is the top Men’s quadrennial football tournament contested among national teams from South America. It is the oldest still-running continental football competition.
River will compete across the Argentine Championship (the top-tier league in Argentine football), the Copa Argentina and the Copa CONMEBOL Sudamericana in the 2026 season.
The Copa Argentina, officially known as the ‘Copa Argentina AXION energy’ due to sponsorship reasons, is an official football cup competition organized by the Argentine Football Association (AFA).
The CONMEBOL Sudamericana, also known as Copa Sudamericana, is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL, the governing body of football in South America since 2002.
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