We must not be fooled by the sensations triggered by that last Superclásico that showed Boca dominant and River in a state of brutal inferiority. If the gaze exceeds the ball and expands to the club level, in a kind of silent Superclásico, lMillionaires day by day take more and more advantage over the xeneizes. Everything could be summarized by drawing a parallel between its stages.
There is the Monumental, increasingly gigantic, with capacity of 85,018 spectators and with another upcoming expansion project that would raise it to 100,000. There it is the Bomboneraalways romantic, parked in its capacity 54,000 peopleadmired by tourists who come from different parts of the world, but trapped by its difficulties in being expanded, without a clear reform plan and with a deep debate in the middle.
River announced in March 2025 that the capacity of the Monumental jumped from 70,000 to 85,018 spectatorsthe product of a majestic work that made it the largest stadium in South America.
Image of the Monumental of River Plate
River reached that capacity after the work started in 2023, adding four lower stands and lowering the level of the playing field by 1.80 meters. In addition, all the stands were joined together, generating a uniform ring. Everything included a general modernization of the infrastructure in all sectors of the stadium, for example with a fabulous 360 LED screen (measuring 488 meters long by 0.90 meters high) and with another giant one at the Sívori head, whose size is 28 by 12 meters.
Of course, River plans another expansion, even more impressive. The new president confirmed it Stefano Di Carlowho took office less than a month ago. Under his management, It was proposed to increase the capacity of the Monumental to 100,000 spectatorsadding an upper stand and crowning the work with the complete roofing of the stadium.
While all this is happening with the millionaires, the president Juan Roman Riquelme He still does not move forward with his promise of comprehensive remodeling and expansion of the Bombonera. The residents of the La Boca neighborhood who have their houses in front of the Bombonera, on Del Valle Iberlucea street, refuse to sell their properties to the club so that the works do not have any type of limitations. The efforts of the previous leadership did not work, nor did the one led by Román now.
River with its Monumental of 85,018 spectators is around 30,000 ahead of Boca with its Bombonera of 54,000
Various expansion projects for the Bombonera in recent decades have been passed and forgotten. However, there is one, the last one, revealed a couple of months ago, that sounds possible, attractive and would be endorsed by Riquelme.
For now, nothing is official. But Román and the current leadership would be analyzing the possibility of renovating the Bombonera and increasing its capacity to at least 71,000 spectators and at most 84,000.. The playing field would be moved a few meters towards the tracks and Irala Street. This would allow the construction of low and medium stalls on Del Valle Iberlucea street. And the current boxes would rise, becoming part of a third tray of that grandstand that would be covered and have elevators at both elbows.
There has still been no official announcement, among other issues, because the work would take around a year and Boca would have to give up the home team, something that in 2026 they do not like at all when it comes to their return to the Libertadores after two years of absence. Most likely, the internal remodeling tasks of different places that have been carried out for a couple of years will continue, with the latest news being the historic renovated entrance at Brandsen 805.
And the idea of the construction of a new Bombonera in another place in Buenos Aires, even in the same neighborhood of La Boca, with a capacity greater than 100,000 spectators? It seems discarded. There is a discussion of love and identity. And those who defend the history and current site of that Xeneize temple, highlighted throughout the world for its resonance and mystique, seem to win it.
A few days ago, following the same line as Riquelme, he established his position Ander Herrera on this topic: “There is a lot of debate here in Argentina regarding the possibility of enlarging the stadium, there was even talk of being able to move it somewhere else. For me it is unique, where it is, how it is and the way it is. I had the possibility of inviting friends and they all agree that it has a unique aura, a smell of football.”
For me the Bombonera is unique, where it is, how it is and the way it is
After all, every time they play in their stadiums for domestic or international tournaments, River with its Monumental of 85,018 spectators brings you around 30,000 attendees ahead of Boca with its 54,000 Bombonera. It is too much for giants that have a brutal corporate mass: River today has 351,000 members and Boca registers 323,000.
Of course, it is not only about the number of members and fans who can attend the games when they are local. An immense distance is also arising in the economic-financial potential, thinking about the income that each one can generate in terms of members, subscriptions, advertising, marketing and recitals, among multiple items. In short, beyond everything that happens with the ball and its whims, there is a silent Superclásico in every domestic or international event that River with its Monumental beats Boca with its Bombonera.
