In Buenos Aires, where the Monumental already rises above Núñez as South America’s largest football ground, River Plate are preparing another change of scale. The stadium that will host Lionel Messi’s Argentina farewell is being rebuilt to hold 101,000 people, while remaining open for matches throughout the work.
The project, announced by River earlier this year, carries a budget of US$145.1 million, approximately R$742 million. Completion is targeted for 2029. Capacity will rise from the present 85,018 to 101,000, a transformation intended to make the Monumental still more imposing for River, Argentina and the major continental occasions that pass through the capital.
At the centre of the plan is a new fifth tier running around the entire stadium above the existing stands. It will provide roughly 16,000 additional places, all allocated to River members at no extra charge. The number of member seats is therefore expected to increase from 24,000 to 40,000.
The Argentina farewell for Messi has already underlined the demand attached to the venue: tickets were sold out within 90 minutes, with some reaching R$1,600. The Monumental’s next incarnation is being shaped for precisely that kind of occasion, when club loyalties and the national team’s wider public fill the same concrete bowl.
A roof above the terraces
The additional ring of seating will also support a new roof. One hundred V-shaped steel columns are planned around the stadium, carrying a translucent membrane designed to let daylight reach the hybrid pitch. The roof will include an acoustically treated steel structure.
Work has moved into excavation for the foundations. One visible consequence has been the removal of the giant screen in the Sívori end, where the future roof construction requires space. Two replacement screens, each 25 metres wide and eight metres high, are planned for the Sívori and Centenario sectors.
The redesign reaches beyond matchday capacity. Visitors will be offered a skywalk experience on the roof, allowing them to walk safely above the stands and look down across the stadium. The concept resembles the Dare Skywalk at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, where guests climb to 46.8 metres above the pitch for views over the ground and city.
Schlaich Bergermann Partner, the German engineering company involved in the Monumental scheme and previously engaged at Tottenham’s stadium, has confirmed that the Buenos Aires project includes the rooftop attraction. Two suspended VIP spaces are also planned within the roof structure, each expected to accommodate around 40 people.
By 2029, River hope the Monumental will be more than a larger stadium: it will be a covered, upward-looking landmark on the northern edge of Buenos Aires, built for its members, its visitors and the international nights that continue to find their way to Núñez.
