The Madrid city council on Wednesday approved a special plan to improve Santiago Bernabeu, the home stadium of Real Madrid football club since its completion in 1947.
The renovation plan includes adding a folding roof to the stadium, as well as the possibility of establishing shopping areas and a hotel, reports Efe.
The special proposal was approved with votes from the People's Party, Ahora Madrid and the Citizens Party in favour, with the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party abstaining.
Real Madrid and Madrid council reached an agreement in May 2016 for the renovation of the stadium, which will cost the club about $448.78 million.
The work is set to begin this summer and continue until 2018-2019, since renovations are set to be carried out outside the football season.
The governing board approved the project on February 16 and the municipal commission last week issued a preliminary agreement, finally approved on Wednesday by the council.
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Jose Manuel Calvo, the delegate from the department of sustainable urban development said that in his opinion this is a good project for the city of Madrid and hoped that a similar consensus can be reached on other projects of this scale and importance.
A previous plan was cancelled by the Superior Court of Justice of Madrid in February 2016.
With the new plan a total of 90,000 square meters of the surroundings of the Santiago Bernabeu will be added, and the club will pay $14.59 million for the remodelling of 37,000 square meters of public space.
The Real Madrid museum is set to be expanded and accessibility and evacuation systems improved.
--IANS
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