Football fans heading to Sevilla for the Copa del Rey final are facing eye-watering hotel prices, with some rooms reaching €2,000 a night.
The showpiece match will see Atletico Madrid take on Real Sociedad at La Cartuja Stadium on April 18 at 9pm, with around 70,000 fans expected to pack the ground.
But supporters hoping to stay in the Andalucian capital that weekend are finding accommodation already sky-high.
Hotel prices for a single night are rarely below €400-€500 per person, and in some cases climb close to €2,000.
The surge is partly because the final coincides with Sevilla’s busy spring season, including the pre-Feria period and the start of the bullfighting season at the famous Maestranza arena.
Manuel Cornax, president of the Sevilla hotel association, said prices are set through automated systems that react to demand.
‘If occupancy and demand rise, then logically prices go up,’ he told El Correo, adding that the current rates are similar to those seen in other cities hosting major events.
He also warned that finding accommodation may be even harder than usual due to the proximity of the Feria de Abril, one of Sevilla’s biggest annual festivals.
For Atlético Madrid supporters travelling from the capital, the train is by far the cheapest way to reach Sevilla.
High-speed services between Madrid-Atocha and Sevilla-Santa Justa take about 2 hours and 40 minutes.
Tickets are currently available from around €29 to €84, depending on the operator and service.
Flights, however, are significantly more expensive, with some airline tickets already approaching €300.
Supporters travelling from San Sebastian have fewer straightforward options.
Train journeys can take up to 10 hours with several transfers, costing close to €100, which means many fans are expected to fly instead.
But there are currently no direct flights to Sevilla, forcing travellers to connect through Madrid or Barcelona.
Prices are already steep, with flights ranging between €475 and €885 per person, depending on the airline.
Sevilla’s La Cartuja Stadium has hosted the Copa del Rey final every year since 2020, after an agreement between the Spanish Football Federation and the Andalusian government.
The deal was later extended, meaning the stadium will continue to stage the final until at least 2028.
This year’s match was moved forward by a week to April 18 to avoid clashing with the busiest weekend of the Seville Fair, when security resources are heavily stretched across the city.
Read more Andalucia news at the Spanish Eye.
