The Estadio La Cartuja takes pride in being one of the few stadiums in its category. Having world-class amenities, excellent service, and practical design make it a five-star arena for sporting events.
History of Estadio Olimpico de Sevilla
The Estadio La Cartuja de Sevilla, also called the Estadio Olimpico de Sevilla, was built for the 1999 IAAF Athletics World Championships. It is the second-largest stadium in Andalusia and the sixth-largest in all of Spain, with a capacity of 60,000.
It was the main venue for the event and a big part of Seville’s plan to host the Olympics in 2004 and 2008, but most of Seville’s offers to host the Olympics fell through. For this reason, they called it the Olympic Stadium for a while.
It cost more than €120 million to build in today’s money, but the Olympic flame has never been there. Since Sevilla and Real Betis take up so much of the city’s sports culture, La Cartuja is often forgotten.
Now the stadium is run by the Sociedad Estadio Olimpico de Sevilla S.A., which is owned by the Regional Government of Andalusia (40%), the Spanish Government (25%), the Seville City Council (19%), the Seville Congress of Deputies (13%), and Real Betis and Sevilla FC, which each own 3%.
The most important events at the Seville Olympic Stadium
On May 5, 1999, Spain and Croatia played a friendly international at the newly opened Estadio
The stadium has hosted occasional concerts and other sporting events, as well as the Davis Cup finals twice, in 2004 and 2011. After San Mames in Bilbao was ruled out because of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Basque Country, Estadio La Cartuja became one of the 2020 European Championship game sites. The stadium also hosted the finals of the Copa del Rey in
1999 and 2001, as well as the UEFA Cup final between Porto, coached by Jose Mourinho, and Glasgow Celtic in 2003, took place in Estadio Olimpico de Sevilla. The Royal Spanish Tennis Federation picked it twice, in 2004 and 2011, to host the Davis Cup final. Both times, a temporary roof was put up over the clay court, which was on one side of the field.
In 2015, the Copa del Rey Final between Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao was not held at La Cartuja because it was too small, and fans would have had to drive a long way to see the game. More shows than sports games have been held at Estadio Olimpico de Sevilla. Artists like AC/DC, U2, Madonna (On September 16, 2008, American entertainer Madonna played a concert in front of 47,712 spectators during her Sticky & Sweet Tour), Depeche Mode, and Bruce have played in Estadio Olimpico de Sevilla.
Springsteen has also performed at Estadio Olimpico de Sevilla. In recent years, although football matches have been played at La Cartuja on occasion, both Sevilla and Betis chose to keep playing at their current stadiums.
About The Seville Olympic Stadium
Estadio de La Cartuja has three levels; however, there is little difference between the lower and center sections due to its bowl-shaped construction and continuous seating.
Hospitality suites encircling the ground level set the upper level apart from the lower two. The top level is also different from the other levels because it is more steep. There is a running track that moves the field away from the stands, but the stadium is still an excellent place to watch games.
There is a lot of empty space around the stadium that may be used for parking cars, and it’s a secure area, too; just make sure to double-check the parking policies on the day that you plan to go.
More About Building
The “Estadio Olimpico” was opened to the public in May 1999. It is on the island of Cartuja, which used to be the site of the Seville Expo. It has a light membrane roof that is held up by cables and is 25,000 m2 in size.
The membrane moves back and forth between 44 upper and 44 lower radial wires that run between a stiff compression ring on the outside and a tension ring on the inside.
The entire structural system is reminiscent of the top of the “Gottlieb-DaimlerStadion” in Stuttgart, Germany, with its spoke wheel design. The new thing here is that, unlike the roof in Stuttgart, the covering in Seville is actually a load-bearing part of the structure. It connects the radial wires and tightens them, giving the roof the tension and stiffness it needs.
How to get to Estadio Olimpico de Sevilla
About 3.5 kilometers away from Sevilla’s historic core is where you’ll find Estadio La Cartuja or Estadio Olimpico de Sevilla in the city’s northwestern outskirts. It’s about a 40-minute stroll from the northern part of the historic district.
The best way to get to the stadium is on a Cercania passenger train. From the central Santa Justa station, take line C2 to station Estadio Olimpico, which is right next to the stadium. The line only stops at a few places, so that service could be better, but on event days, more stops can be added.
Conclusion
This stadium is multi-use because it has different fields for different sports, such as Cricket, basketball, football, tennis, etc. Also, due to the large area of this stadium, important and significant concerts are also held there, making it one of the most beautiful stadiums in all of Spain.
You may find more photos and videos on our social media platforms. Be sure to check them out as well.