Area: Infrastructure

Section in which we include content related to the club’s infrastructures and new developments. Such as the facilities themselves.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

International leaders in pitch maintenance and sustainability

One of the club’s many areas of expertise is pitch maintenance, where Sevilla FC have an international example for several decades thanks to an innovative approach. Carlos Venegas, the club’s head groundsman, has been central to this success and recently added four new members to prominent roles in the organisation of pitch sustainability events. 

Last October, Venegas was invited by the Bulgarian Golf Greenkeepers Association (BGGA) to its annual congress, held in Sofia, where he presented the club’s strategy, centred on maximising water resources and moving away from the use of pesticides. As a club, we are involved in various research programs with the University of Sevilla which promote the use of environmentally-friendly biological products, an issue that Carlos Venegas also spoke about at a major event held in Paris in November, the ’24h du Garzon Sport Pro,’ where he was joined by representatives from Bayern Munich and Inter Milan.

Similar issues were also addressed at the end of 2023 at the Annual Congress of the Spanish Greenkeepers Association, held in Jerez de la Frontera. At this event, Sevilla FC again played a leading role in discussions on pitch maintenance and sustainability. The club has recieved international recognition for years thanks to the implementation of a strategy based on the use of two types of plants, one for summer and one for winter, a key decision given the intensity of the climate in Sevilla. Moreover, in recent years, the club has stood out for the use of a type of a new grass type that reduces water consumption by more than 30%, a crucial factor due to the perpetual threat of drought in the region. 

At the start of 2024, Carlos Venegas was once again asked by the Sports Fields Manager Association to participate in the ‘Congreso Americano de Superficies de Céspedes’ in Daytona Beach, Florida. The event discussed the latest turfs being used and new techniques in maintenance, machinery and digitalisation of sports fields. One of the main seminars talked about designing pitches and drainage systems capable of hosting future World Cup matches. Also, Venegas had the opportunity to visit the state-of-the-art facilities at Inter Miami, sharing experience and knowledge.

Finally, Vanegas went to Milan in February to speak at the MYPLANT & GARDEN event. The club’s maintenance programme is being looked at by clubs all over Europe as the perfect example of how to treat the pitch in hot conditions, with high temperatures becoming more common across the world.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

The preliminary project for the new Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán has been presented

its facilities to modern times. The new Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán has the commitment and the need to be a venue prepared for 21st century football, located in the same place as the current stadium after demolishing the previous one, without forgetting the history of the place, of the Nervión district and respecting the moments of glory that the current stadium has given Sevillismo. But at the same time it combines new airs, new resources and new comforts for the Sevillistas and for the club, which wants to make the new stadium one of the cornerstones of its strategic plan.

The new Sánchez-Pizjuán will not only be a sports venue of reference, but will also be an outstanding building in the city of Seville, which will be linked to the incomparable urban history of the city, its culture and its heritage. The design of the preliminary project, developed with IDOM, seeks to identify the key values in the great stages of Seville’s history through the reference to great examples of its architecture and cultural heritage such as the Real Alcázar, the Archive of the Indies or the Cathedral of Seville, to project them into a new Stadium that is contemporary, sustainable, technological and rooted in the city’s tradition.

In addition, the proposed design for the new stadium takes into account the following key aspects:

Renew the tradition of LA BOMBONERA DEL NERVION and further enhance the incredible football atmosphere for a full spectator experience.

To place the Nuevo Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán at the level of a reference infrastructure for the highest levels of football, through the use of the MOST ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES applied to security, television broadcasting, fan experience and sustainability.

Working in the public interest through a careful relationship between the new stadium and its URBAN CONTEXT, respecting the scale of the Nervión neighbourhood on the one hand and generating urban public space that can be enjoyed by residents 365 days a year, with new associated uses, on the other.

The integration of these elements is carried out with an ambitious, contemporary and identifiable architectural proposal, which will make the Nuevo Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán a new metropolitan landmark for Seville.

The seating capacity will be increased to 55,000 spectators, with a grandstand that will be very reminiscent of our current stadium, close to the pitch, facing the grass, but which will increase comfort, generate a new and numerous Hospitality offer and create a new continuous background for local entertainment, unprecedented in Spanish football. All of this, together with the new roofing of all the stands, will create an even greater footballing atmosphere for Sevilla fans than that of our current stadium. Not only that, but it will also allow for a substantial growth in Sevilla FC’s activities both in national competitions and in international competitions and other events. The new stadium will have two floors of parking and will substantially eliminate the number of stairs in the stadium. It will also include lounges and spaces for the organisation of events, as well as a new official shop and the new club museum.

Another important point in the proposal and an essential element in the design of the best modern urban stadiums is their relationship with their surroundings. The programme proposed for this new stadium allows activity to take place 365 days a year, so that, as well as allowing the clubs to expand their relationship with visitors and generate new revenue streams, they can participate in a prominent way in the creation and improvement of the urban spaces in their vicinity. This is what happens in the design of our new stadium: an open stadium related to its immediate surroundings, especially with the creation of a south façade that overlooks the square, which proposes terraces and other uses accessible to citizens and which, through a generous shaded space, activates the urban environment, transforming it into the new Plaza de Nervión and of Seville. A versatile, flexible square, a shaded, ventilated and cool space, a main entrance to the stadium, the new face of Sevilla FC.

For all these reasons, the New Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán, which will have to be approved by the General Assembly, will be an innovative stadium, an international benchmark and an example of the new generation of stadiums, heir to the traditional values of Sevilla FC, with new revenue streams, with activity all year round and a driving force for activity in the Nervión district.