Malaga studies possibility of 'plaza-bridge' in La Rosaleda stadium remodelling project

Jesús Hinojosa

Malaga

Thursday, 20 March 2025, 22:16

Malaga city council is advancing with the plans to renovate the La Rosaleda stadium in preparation for hosting 2030 World Cup football matches. Local company Promálaga, in collaboration with Madrid-based Morph, has already set up several contracts, worth more than 200 million euros, to transform the stadium, add 15,000 more seats and incorporate a hotel and commercial spaces.

One key aspect of the project is the construction of a 'plaza-bridge' over the Guadalmedina river to provide pedestrian access to the stadium. This aligns with the city’s broader strategy to integrate the riverbed more seamlessly into urban life. Regional government experts specialising in the assessment of flood risks had, for years, been rejecting such actions, but technicians have now given their approval.

Although the 'plaza-bridge' project is still pending completion of the environmental assessment, Promálaga and Morph have already started to draft the part of the project that concerns the stadium and its surroundings. According to the preliminary project, the new pedestrian area over the river could house a "commercial exhibition area" - possibly for street markets.

A company from Cadiz, which specialises in design and supervision of large bridges, has been contracted for the analysis of the structure over the riverbed, specifically the area from the stadium to the other bank of the river, where the Junta has already created a pedestrian path to connect the Armiñán bridge and the La Concepción botanical garden.

It is of key importance that the project considers hydraulic constraints. Each section of the 'plaza-bridge' must respect the riverbed's water capacity in order to accommodate the outflow from the dam and the contributions from the Limonero streams at times of heavy rainfall. The section of the riverbed around La Rosaleda, in particular, has a capacity of 400 cubic metres, which is the amount of water that the footbridge must be able to withstand.

In addition to covering the riverbed next to the stadium, the city council has already signed a contract for the preliminary design of the section between the Aurora and Armiñán bridges, which will connect the city centre with the Trinidad. There are also plans for two 'plaza-bridges' in the Santo Domingo area.