History 1970's project included skyscraper on stadium's existing site

Final plans revealed for new Bernabeu

Green light for the new Bernabeu

Real Madrid have not always had the privilege of lighting their cigars with banknotes, as Spanish crooner Joaquin Sabina would sing, as indeed the 1970s was a time of great uncertainty for Los Blancos.

Club president Santiago Bernabeu watched on as Valencia, Atletico Madrid, and Barcelona upgraded their stadiums with Los Blancos' ground beginning to feel dated. Furthermore, the Blaugrana took a significant step above their rivals by signing Johan Cruyff upon the admittance of foreign players to LaLiga, a player Madrid turned down due to Ajax's demands.

Not wanting to be left behind, Bernabeu formulated a plan to maximise the land value of Madrid's stadium whilst building a new home for the club.

A Chamartin Skyscraper

Interested in getting in on the capital's massive urban growth, an urban investor group offered 4 billion pesetas to build a 70-story skyscraper and two large apartment buildings on the property.

In turn, Real located the site of a new arena, not near their Valdebebas training ground as expected, but to the north of the city at Las Jarillas. Felix Candela, popular architect with much esteemed work in Mexico under his belt, designed a 120,000-seater stadium, split evenly between seating and standing and inspired by Munich's 1972-built Olympiastadion.

Obstacles Aplenty

However, there were major hurdles that proved too great to overcome. Las Jarillas required numerous rezoning permits to convert it from a farm to a sporting venue, and certain members of the local government weren't keen on the plan. For example, the pro-Franco mayor of Madrid, Carlos Arias Navarro, stressed that the plan was 'as prohibited as murder'.

Kicking on with the project regardless, Real Madrid soon found the press on their backs, citing the billions of investment that had yet to be substantiated along with the continual lack of permits for construction.

The End Of The Road

In one last attempt, Bernabeu brought the plans before General Franco, now in the latter years of his supremacy, who studied the stadium but gave no opinion either way, starving the club of much-needed governmental backing.

Soon enough the proposal had bitten the dust, with Real forced to wait until the 1982 World Cup for its next renovations, with the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu subsequently getting a facelift in 1994, 2006, and now with yet more improvements scheduled for 2019.