The news was confirmed by the club's highest leader, President Florentino Perez, who made the announcement at the last Assembly of Members, which approved the project of the new stadium of the club in Madrid.
According to the information released by the Spanish soccer club, Real Madrid will include an eSports competition space in its redesigned Santiago Bernabéu Stadium plan, which was revealed on Sunday and will begin construction in 2019.
Real Madrid announced the €525 million renovation project, which will overhaul the existing arena in Madrid, Spain, and outfit the 70-year-old arena with a number of modern amenities. An official concept video shows a space in the stadium with two esports teams playing in front of monitors, complete with large screens behind them that show gameplay and team imagery.
Real Madrid has been one of the most notable holdouts when it comes to traditional soccer teams entering the esports space. Separate from the team, former Real Madrid player Álvaro Arbeloa recently became an investor in Spanish League of Legends team.
Hosting eSports events could provide another revenue stream for the expanded stadium, which is projected to bring in an additional €150 million per year once completed. Construction is expected to take about three and a half years to complete.
The concept for the esports stadium appears shortly after the two-minute mark in Real Madrid’s new concept video. There’s a stage and spots for two teams behind monitors, with a seating area residing just near the entrance. The Real Madrid logo is emblazoned on the platform leading up to the playing area with FIFA shown on the screen.
It seems a bit small, but this is obviously just a concept at this time, so anything could change. It also hints at Real Madrid possibly entering esports in the future or at least providing a place for future esports tournaments to be held.
Source: GMB / The eSports Observer
