Estadio La Cartuja (), formerly Estadio Olímpico de Sevilla, officially known as Estadio La Cartuja de Sevilla, is a stadium situated in the Isla de la Cartuja in

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. It is used mostly for football and it is commonly referred to as simply 'La Cartuja'. It was completed in 1999 for the World Championships in Athletics and expanded in 2025. With a capacity of 70,000 seats, La Cartuja is the 4th-largest stadium in Spain and the largest in

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

. It was the venue for the 2003 UEFA Cup final between

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

and

Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...

History

The stadium was one of those included in the Seville bids for the

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

and

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

. After the failure of the last bid, the stadium remained unused by either of Seville's major football teams as both

Real Betis Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Seville, Andalusia, Spain. It plays in La Liga, the Spanish football league system, top flight of Spanish football. It plays home ...

and

Sevilla Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula. Seville ...

continued to use their own stadiums. However, both teams expressed their intention to move temporarily while their respective home grounds were renovated. The stadium is currently managed by the Sociedad Estadio Olímpico de Sevilla S.A., participated by the

Regional Government of Andalusia The Regional Government of Andalusia () is the government of the Autonomous Community of Andalusia. It consists of the Parliament of Andalusia, Parliament, the President of the Regional Government of Andalusia, President of the Regional Government ...

(40% ownership), the

Spanish Government The government of Spain () is the central government which leads the executive branch and the General State Administration of the Kingdom of Spain. The Government consists of the Prime Minister and the Ministers; the prime minister has the o ...

(25%); Seville City Council (19%), Seville Congress of Deputies (13%) and the remaining 3% shared evenly between Real Betis and Sevilla FC. The

Spain national football team The Spain national football team () has represented Spain in men's international Association football, football competitions since 1920. It is governed by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Spain. Spain i ...

occasionally use the stadium for home games, last playing there in 2023. The stadium has previously hosted the final of the

Copa del Rey The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanis ...

. Real Betis's home game against Villarreal on 31 March 2007 also took place here following a temporary ban from the Manuel Ruiz de Lopera. The Royal Spanish Tennis Federation has chosen it twice to host the

Davis Cup The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is organised by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and contested annually between teams from over 150 competing countries, making it the world's largest annual ...

final, in

and

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

. On both occasions a temporary roof was installed on one side of the stadium, where the clay court was placed. On 5 February 2020, the stadium was chosen by the

Royal Spanish Football Federation The Royal Spanish Football Federation (; RFEF) is the governing body of football in Spain. Founded on 29 September 1913, it is based in La Ciudad del Fútbol of Las Rozas de Madrid, Las Rozas, a municipality near Madrid. RFEF organizes the natio ...

to host four

finals Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

from 2021 to 2024. On 23 April 2021 it was announced that the stadium would replace San Mamés Stadium in

Bilbao Bilbao is a city in northern Spain, the largest city in the Provinces of Spain, province of Biscay and in the Basque Country (greater region), Basque Country as a whole. It is also the largest city proper in northern Spain. Bilbao is the List o ...

as a host stadium for

UEFA Euro 2020 The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the Anniversary#Latin-derived numerical names, quadrennial international men's association footb ...

, which was unable to fulfill its original hosting duties due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. During the tournament, and as part of the UEFA Festival, Seville was illuminated at night with a light show across the cityscape. In 2025, La Cartuja was expanded to 70,000 seats, along with the removal of the athletics track; it was re-inaugurated on 26 April for the 2025 Copa del Rey final. The new capacity made it the third biggest stadium in Spain, after

Camp Nou Camp Nou (), meaning ''New Field'' and often referred to in English as the Nou Camp, is a stadium in Barcelona and the home of La Liga club FC Barcelona since its opening in 1957. It is currently undergoing renovation, and with a planned increa ...

and Santiago Bernabéu, with the overall renovation project – including access improvements and a glass roof – to be completed around 2028 in advance of it staging matches at the

2030 FIFA World Cup The 2030 FIFA World Cup will be the 24th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament contested by the men's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. Three countries will host the competition, representing, for the ...

International matches

2024 UEFA Women's Nations League Finals

The stadium was one of three selected to host the 2024 UEFA Women's Nations League Finals matches. It hosted 2 matches.

Notable music events

On 9 October 1999, Mexican singer

Luis Miguel Luis Miguel Gallego Basteri (; born 19 April 1970) is a Mexican singer and record producer. Born in Puerto Rico to an Italian mother and a Spanish father, he is often referred to as Honorific nicknames in popular music, ''El Sol de Mexico'' ...

performed a concert at the Stadium in front of 35,000 spectators during his '' Amarte Es Un Placer Tour''. On 16 September 2008, American entertainer

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

played a concert in front of 47,712 spectators during her '' Sticky & Sweet Tour''. U2 performed at the stadium on 30 September 2010 during their

U2 360° Tour The U2 360° Tour was a worldwide concert tour by the Irish rock music, rock band U2. Staged in support of the group's 2009 album ''No Line on the Horizon'', the tour visited stadiums from 2009 through 2011. The concerts featured the band pla ...

, in front of a sold-out crowd of 76,159 people.

Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music, electronic band formed in Basildon, Essex in 1980. Originally formed with the line-up of Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, Andy Fletcher (musician), Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke, the band currently consists ...

were scheduled to perform at the stadium on 12 July 2009 as part of their Tour of the Universe, but the concert was cancelled due to singer

Dave Gahan David Gahan ( ; né Callcott; born 9 May 1962) is an English singer best known as the lead singer of electronic music band Depeche Mode since their formation in 1980. Noted for his commanding stage presence and unique baritone voice, Gahan was ...

's leg injury.

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American Rock music, rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Nicknamed "the Boss", Springsteen has released 21 studio albums spanning six decades; most of his albums feature th ...

performed at the stadium on 13 May 2012 as part of his

Wrecking Ball World Tour The Wrecking Ball World Tour was a concert tour by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band to promote Springsteen's seventeenth studio album, '' Wrecking Ball'', which was released on March 5, 2012. It was the first tour for the E Street Band wi ...

AC/DC AC/DC are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1973. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock and Heavy metal music, heavy metal, although the band calls it simply "rock and roll". They are cited as a formativ ...

performed here on 10 May 2016 as part of their

Rock or Bust World Tour The Rock or Bust World Tour was a 2015–2016 concert tour by Australian rock band AC/DC, in support of their sixteenth studio album '' Rock or Bust'', which was released on 28 November 2014. This tour had 7 legs around the world lasting more t ...

in front of 60,000 people.

Red Hot Chili Peppers The Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1982, consisting of Anthony Kiedis (vocals), Flea (musician), Flea (bass), John Frusciante (guitar), and Chad Smith (drums). Their music incorporates elements of a ...

opened their 2022 Global Stadium Tour at the stadium on 4 June 2022. Manuel Carrasco broke the record for most attended single-day concert in Spain's history on 11 June 2022, with 74,345 tickets sold.

References

External links