New Stadium Gives Real Madrid A Headache

Real Madrid's revamp of its historic Santiago Bernabeu stadium has become a problem for the Spanish football club, with locals protesting against noise from concerts and the permanent construction works. The stadium began hosting concerts again earlier this year after it completed a years-long revamp that included an undulating metal roof, new lighting, shops, VIP areas and a retractable pitch. The goal is to allow the venue, inaugurated in 1947 as a traditional football pitch, to be used as a year-round entertainment hub.

Pop megastar Taylor Swift and Grammy-winning Colombian singer Karol G are among the big names who have performed at the refurbished stadium this year, which is owned by Real Madrid, whose president Florentino Perez is one of Spain's richest men.

The wealthy Chamartin neighbourhood in northern Madrid where the stadium is located used to be quiet, except on match days. Now residents complain of noise during concerts and rehearsals that far exceeds legal limits, and of drunken concertgoers urinating in doorways.

Luis Eusa, a university student, said his grandparents' apartment located across the street from the stadium "rumbles when there are concerts".

"A lot of elderly people live in the neighbourhood, and they are not used to the noise so late in the evening," he told AFP.

Angry residents of apartment buildings near the stadium have put up banners on their balconies that read: "NO concerts".

Concerts suspended

The stadium has gone from hosting some 35 events per year before the refurbishment to planning to host more than 300, according to the Association of People Affected by the Bernabeu, one of the neighbourhood organisations set up to fight against "the negative impacts" of the redevelopment.

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