Spain Gran Canaria Stadium renovation-expansion make headway

Article posted by Coliseum, October 26^th, 2026

Image: L35 Architects

The contracting committee of the Island Sports Institute (IID) of the Gran Canaria Island Council has provisionally proposed the joint venture of Obrascón Huarte Lain, S.A. OHLA (a major Spanish multinational construction and civil engineering company) (formerly OHL) and Sando (a major Spanish construction and infrastructure company) for the award of the works for the renovation and expansion of the Gran Canaria Stadium in Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Spain, for an amount of 206.39 million euros (206,390,624), 28.4 million less than the 234.8 million of the budget set in the tender for the contract.

Pre-tax Bid

‘Canarias7’ stated that the Cabildo de Gran Canaria (Owner and Operator of the Gran Canaria Stadium) statement, which only shows the pre-tax bid amount of €192.8 million (€192,888,434.21), justifies the selection of the above proposal after it was ranked highest according to all the criteria established in the procedure, both in terms of solvency and operational capacity, as well as the financial proposal. It adds that none of the submitted bids were considered abnormally low.

The 32,392-seat Gran Canaria Stadium is a football stadium in Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Spain. It is currently used for football matches.

A Step Forward

‘Canarias7’ further stated that the above proposal, the Island Council emphasizes, represents a further step forward in one of the main projects for the transformation of the Gran Canaria Stadium’s sports infrastructure. Now that the opening and evaluation of all bids for the contracting process is complete the process is moving into its next administrative stages with the expectation that the contract will be formalized by the end of November at which point construction could begin.

Strong Presence

The proposal from OHLA (formerly OHL)-Sando anticipates a 30-month construction period meaning it could be completed a year before the 2030 FIFA World Cup™. This suggests that the risks initially raised concerns about the project – when the first tender for the works failed to attract any bids – have diminished. According to the Island Council, both the companies have a strong presence in the public works sector having carried out significant projects on the island for many years.

The 2030 FIFA World Cup™ is scheduled to be the 24^th FIFA World Cup™, the quadrennial international football tournament that is contested by the Men’s national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament is planned to be jointly hosted by Morocco, Portugal and Spain. In honor of the 100^th anniversary of the first edition in 1930 a special match and celebration are scheduled to be held at the 60,235-capacity Estadio Centenario in Montevideo, Uruguay – the host stadium of the 1930 Final – as well as one match each in the 85,018-seat Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and the 32,000-capacity Estadio Osvaldo Domínguez Dibb in Asunción, Paraguay.

Roof Placement

The project includes various highly relevant actions on the site, including the demolition of the current infrastructure and structures that must be replaced to implement the new configuration of the stadium, as well as the subsequent implementation of new elements and the placement of the roof.

Comprehensive Action

The intervention will allow for a profound transformation of the Gran Canaria Stadium with a comprehensive action on its infrastructure that will require planning and execution of special complexity due to the scale of the work.

Decisive Step

The proposal from the contracting committee thus represents a decisive step towards realizing a project aimed at renovating one of the island’s main sports facilities and equipping it with facilities that meet the future needs and challenges.

Renovation Requirements

The renovation meets the requirements set by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA – the official governing body for association football, futsal and beach football in Europe), the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF – the official governing body of football in Spain) and the FIFA for hosting the 2030 World Cup. The specifications also stipulate that 46.7 million euros be reserved for hiring labor, one out of every five euros of the budget.

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