With a capacity of 42,500 spectators, the first images of the new La Romareda Stadium, home of the Spanish soccer club Real Zaragoza, have been released. Spanish architecture firm IDOM is in charge of the preliminary design of the future stadium, addressing a series of factors considered key in modern sports venues today. These include creating a vibrant soccer atmosphere to enhance the spectator experience, hosting major international competitions, becoming a benchmark in sustainability, utilizing advanced safety and broadcasting technologies, and establishing a landmark for the city, consolidating a stadium for the club, Zaragoza, and the wider Aragon region.
Aspiring to host matches during the 2030 World Cup under the joint Spain-Portugal-Morocco bid, the design meets the requirements and recommendations established by FIFA, UEFA, the Spanish Football Federation, and La Liga. It integrates adjacent commercial and sporting uses, both functionally and architecturally, within a unified envelope that defines the stadium's final aesthetic.
The proposal aims to design a stadium that faces the city, integrating with and transcending it, while remaining sensitive to its geographical surroundings. At the site, the cierzo—one of the Iberian Peninsula's prevailing winds—plays a fundamental role in the design.
Enhancing the connection between the Parque Grande José Antonio Labordeta and Plaza Eduardo Ibarra, vegetation helps accentuate its presence in the urban void between the park and La Nueva Romareda. Consequently, the stadium, plaza, and park merge, providing spaces for both the venue and the city.
“Focusing on its flows, we conceived the stadium and the roof by modeling them as fluid and dynamic elements. The piece deforms, drawing concave shapes in the north and south areas of the volume, granting greater openness to the urban space, and convex shapes in the east and west areas, showcasing Eduardo Ibarra Plaza and Paseo de Isabel la Católica” - César Azcárate, Director of Sports&Events at IDOM
Based on urban and site analysis, the plan locates city-oriented uses in the Main Stand (Tribuna Preferencial) and the East Stand. The concept centers on placing these programs along both stands, connecting them with the stadium interior while creating interesting synergies. The seating bowl represents the heart of the stadium, where fans watch the matches. Following several geometric iterations, it was custom-designed for the site, positioned as close to the pitch as possible.
The stadium is designed as a compact volume with a uniform facade. The roof is conceived as a lightweight element that expresses movement while providing protection to the west and views to the east, offering a site-specific response. Covering the entire seating area, it extends outward to the building's edge, creating a 360-degree promenade with views of both the city and the stadium interior. The facade, vibrant by day, becomes a dynamic element at night, reflecting the interior activity to the outside.
General public access is located on the first level from the top of the lower tier, integrating the overall volume of the stadium into the city. This also facilitates evacuation: spectators in the lower tier have direct access to and from the street, leaving the staircases for upper-tier and hospitality-level spectators.
Once inside, two main seating rings are designed for the general public, interspersed with two hospitality tiers in the Main Stand, alongside a general public or hospitality ring in the East Stand. Additionally, the second floor features more exclusive areas, including VIP boxes, presidential suites, and a Pitch Club overlooking the players' tunnel.
This article was written by Agustina Iñiguez. The translation is powered by AI.
