Top firms’ dress-to-the-nines Betis home plans

Article posted by Coliseum, August 24^th, 2023

Image: Real Betis

The projects presented by Rafael de la-Hoz and Gensler has won the international competition in design organized by the LaLiga club Real Betis Balompié recently to design its home ground – the Benito Villamarín Stadium in Seville, Spain – as part of its total transformation plans, one of the key points in the club’s Strategic Plan 2022-2026.

As part of their 2022-2026 Strategic Plan, Real Betis wants to restructure their home ground that is fit for the 21^st century. The club would not only like it to be bigger than the current Estadio Benito Villamarín, but also wants to see it become one of the must-see tourist attractions of the City with exquisite views of Seville.

‘Real Betis’ stated that the board of administrators decided in the final vote that the architecture firm from Spain and the studio from the United States of America will develop the project design that is crucial to the growth of the club and that will transform the house of the Béticos (Real Betis fans) into one of the referential football venues at the national level and a new icon for the City of Seville.

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Image: Real Betis

Rafael de la-Hoz is a multidisciplinary international architecture practice based in Madrid, Spain. Founded in 1920, it is one of the most prestigious and longest standing architecture firms in the world. Experience and knowledge acquired over all these years have enabled the design practice to successfully complete more than 500 projects in 20 different countries. The design studio is renowned for its outstanding architecture and its steadfast commitment to design excellence, innovation and sustainability.

Gensler is a global design and architecture firm founded in San Francisco, California (US) in 1965. In 2021, Gensler generated $1.235 billion in revenue, the most of any architecture firm in the United States. As of 2021, Gensler operated offices in 49 Cities in 16 countries worldwide, working for clients in over 100 countries.

Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis or just Betis, is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville (Spain) in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1907, it plays in LaLiga (the top men’s professional football division of the Spanish football league system). It holds its home games at the Benito Villamarín Stadium in the South of the City with a 60,720-seat capacity.

The Benito Villamarín Stadium is a stadium in Seville, Spain, and the home of Real Betis since its completion in 1929. It has a capacity of 60,720.

‘Real Betis’ further stated that the revamped home venue of Betis will help to generate more revenues through a new stadium concept – a totally avant-garde venue that will keep the Betis coffers jingling with premium facilities on offer for the spectators not only on matchdays but 365 days in a year. A 450-seat auditorium will also come up as part of the rejig plans and the facility will also act as an events center offering a multitude of leisure activities. It will also act as a tourist landmark for the City of Seville.

Image: Real Betis

Though the venue will go through massive redecoration, its pristine sheen will remain untouched and the museum and the venue tour will also be given a fresh look. Fans will be offered the best-of-breed services.

The revamped Benito Villamarín Stadium will have capacity for 60,379 spectators. The current Preferencia Stand (West Stand) will be demolished and rebuilt with 15,754 seats (11,533 regular seats, 4,023 premium seats and 180 seats in the Presidential Box). The other three stands will not be demolished but will undergo substantial changes that will make available the best facilities for the fans. The project also includes the installation of a roof over the four stands and a new façade that will bring about a sea change in the present look of the stadium with a design proposal that aims to surround the stadium with the 13 stripes of the badge.

The stadium will have 4,436 premium tickets, 7.3 percent of the total capacity. Thirty (30) percent of them will be VIP model (private hospitality) and 70 percent club model (shared hospitality). Also, the design leaves room to increase these numbers in scenarios when ticket demands are high. These spaces will be available both on matchdays as well as to host corporate events.

A restaurant is being planned that will serve gourmet food to visitors both on matchdays and even on non-matchdays. Several food kiosks are being planned.
A rooftop and a sky lounge will come up on the top of the West Stand which will provide mesmerizing views of the City.

Image: Real Betis

The redecorated Benito Villamarín Stadium will also meet three longstanding demands of the City: Quality public spaces, with a main square, greenery, pedestrian areas with leisure options, services and equipment with new underground parking lots and commercial spaces that will increase the activity in the area during the whole year and, more specifically, it will give the City a new iconic building that will have a positive bearing on Seville.

The new stadium will be high on the sustainability quotient in keeping with the sustainability initiatives taken by Real Betis through its platform ‘Forever Green’. The redeveloped home of Betis will be one of the first in Europe to enjoy environmental certification with a design focused on energy efficiency. The venue will provide facilities for persons with reduced mobility (PRM).

Architect Rafael de la-Hoz explained that this is “a great opportunity” to link “an iconic venue” with the public space of a “legendary City. We have been waiting for a long time to work on an urban stadium and we have finally landed the opportunity”.

A full of beans Real Betis President Ángel Haro termed it as a “historical” project that will prove to be a “turning point for the top-flight and the stadium will be a talking point among the football fraternity both at the national and at the international level. The transformed home of Real Betis will make all Béticos proud and it will also keep our financial wheels well-oiled.”

The permission exercise as well as the official formalities required to reconfigure the venue is scheduled to begin next Summer.

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