Inside ‘insane’ £1.5bn Bernabeu renovation from hidden tunnels under stadium to setting FIRE to the old roof

THE “insane” £1.5billion Bernabeu renovation included a hidden network of underground tunnels and setting FIRE to the old roof.

And the epic project even required a full year-long study of the sun to avoid blinding drivers.

Real Madrid spent a fortune updating their iconic stadium, finally completing the work in 2024.

Much has been made of the brand-new features such as the 360-degree LED scoreboard screen, the sleek steel facade and the flagship VIP hospitality suite, the SkyBar.

The pitch has also been split into six panels which are split up and stored in an underground greenhouse hypogeum, only coming out for matchday, in one of the most advanced pieces of architecture in world football.

Now, though, the reality of the sheer logistical ingenuity and complexity of the Bernabeu facelift has been revealed.

A National Geographic documentary – Megastructures: Real Madrid Super Stadium – followed the mammoth project, which was ironically massively helped by the Covid pandemic.

That is because Real Madrid were insistent that they would keep on playing at the Bernabeu for their domestic matches throughout the construction work.

As a result, the pitch was out of bounds to protect the playing surface while all the heavy machinery had to be stored away to meet safety regulations with 80,000 fans in attendance – although the cranes made for surreal aerial viewing spots for a lucky few.

So part of the early stages of the work involved digging tunnels beneath the stadium to allow the diggers to be stored and get to different areas of the site easily.

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But the issue with needing to keep the pitch clear meant work on the roof was particularly tricky as the team had to avoid it at all costs – essentially operating like work on a bridge over water.

One of the earliest stages of the renovation included dismantling the old partial roof to remove it and make way for the new state-of-the-art roof.

And that involved setting sections ablaze in staggering scenes.

Once the existing roof was completely removed, the delicate process of constructing a frame for the new roof took place.

Incredibly, the modern retractable roof weighs the same as two Eiffel Towers.

And there is even an inflatable pad within the machinery – carefully programmed alongside the rest of the aeronautical roof – which makes it fully waterproof.

When the Covid pandemic worsened and Spain went into lockdown, the 2019-20 football season was put on pause.

But for the workers, they got the green light to carry on – and carry on they did, with a non-stop day-and-night operation in full swing.

And, crucially, no matches enabled them to rip up the luscious green pitch and convert it into a building site.

That paved the way for work to begin on the revolutionary system, digging down a whopping 23 metres below the surface to create six levels in the ultimate game of underground football pitch Tetris.

A replica pitch using the same technology had been designed at Los Blancos’ training ground using their custom agronomic laboratory to build the replicated ‘pieces’ structure, first tested out by several academy young stars.

Real Madrid had two objectives: they wanted the very best turf in the world and they wanted to be able to store it away when not in use to make the Bernabeu into a money machine able to host events – such as Taylor Swift concerts – whenever there was no match.

Simples. Or not.

The finishing touches to the new version of the Bernabeu – ironically the first thing fans will notice arriving – came with the stunning exterior.

A whopping 13,200 slats of uniquely-designed steel were all individually manufactured to create the striking appearance.

But even the steel wraparound required detailed research lasting a full 365 days – aka a full orbit of the sun.

Because the architects, designers and safety officers had to ensure it was safe.

The metallic exterior catches the sun and therefore they were required to make sure the positioning and intensity of the bright reflections would not get dangerously hot nor startle and blind drivers using the roads around the ground or get too hot.

Make no mistake about it, the new Bernabeu is a piece of sheer design absurdity and creativity to utterly bonkers proportions – but would you expect anything less from Real Madrid Club de Futbol?