Metropolitano Stadium

Metropolitano Stadium (Spanish: Estadio Metropolitano), also referred to as Wanda Metropolitano for sponsorship reasons, is a stadium in Madrid, Spain. It has been the home stadium of Atlético Madrid since the 2017–18 season. It is located in the Rosas neighbourhood, in the San Blas-Canillejas district.

Estadio Metropolitano

UEFA
Full name	Estadio Metropolitano
Location	Madrid, Spain
Coordinates	40°26′10″N 3°35′58″W
Public transit	at Estadio Metropolitano
Owner	Community of Madrid (1992–2002) City of Madrid (2002–2017) Atlético Madrid (2017–present)[1]
Operator	Atlético Madrid
Capacity	68,456
Record attendance	67,942 (28 September 2019)[2]
Field size	105 m × 68 m (115 yd × 74 yd)
Surface	Grass
Construction
Built	1990–93
Opened	6 September 1994
Renovated	2017
Closed	2004
Reopened	16 September 2017
Construction cost	€ 45 million (1994) € 240 million (2017)[3]
Architect	Cruz y Ortiz Arquitectos
Main contractors	FCC
Tenants
Atlético Madrid (2017–present) Rayo Majadahonda (2018)[4] Spain national football team (selected matches)

The stadium was built as part of Madrid's unsuccessful bid to host the 1997 World Athletics Championships, and was opened on 6 September 1994 by the Community of Madrid. It was closed in 2004 due to the city's bid for the 2016 Olympics and in 2013 it was passed into the possession of Atlético Madrid. The stadium was renovated and the new facility was reopened to the public on 16 September 2017, when Atlético Madrid faced Málaga CF in La Liga. The stadium had a capacity of 20,000 spectators upon its closure and re-opened with a seating capacity of 68,456 after renovation. The stadium is home to Atlético Madrid's first team matches. Atlético Madrid offered Wanda Metropolitano as a permanent venue for the finals of the Spanish Copa del Rey matches.[5] The stadium hosted the 2019 UEFA Champions League Final on 1 June 2019.[6]

Name

The stadium was formerly known as Estadio de la Comunidad de Madrid (Madrid Community Stadium), Estadio Olímpico de Madrid (Madrid Olympic Stadium), and more commonly by its nickname Estadio de La Peineta (The Comb Stadium). Naming rights were acquired by the Wanda Group, a Chinese real estate company.[7] Due to UEFA sponsorship regulations the stadium is known as Estadio Metropolitano in UEFA marketing materials.[8]

History

During the early 1990s the Sports Council of the Community of Madrid promoted the city's bid to host the World Athletics Championships in 1997. The preparations began for a heavily urbanized Olympic stadium in the east of Madrid, next to the M-40 motorway.

Construction of the new stadium began in 1990 and was based on a design proposed by Cruz y Ortiz. It was completed in 1993, and the inauguration took place in September 1994. The single side tier oval shaped stadium with a capacity 20,000 seats became known as La Peineta (the comb) because of its similarity with the traditional Spanish hair comb.

The 1997 World Championships in Athletics were eventually awarded to Athens, and La Peineta was used for minor sports and cultural events during the first decade of its existence.

New stadium

In 2004, the stadium was closed for a future project upon the Madrid bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics. Following the defeat of Madrid's bid in 2009, many proposals were made for the future use of the stadium. Finally, on 11 September 2013, Atlético Madrid announced their plans to build a stadium on the location of La Peineta. Thus ownership was officially transferred to the club.[9]

Atlético's first European match at the stadium, 27 September 2017

The new stadium was scheduled to replace Vicente Calderón Stadium as Atletico's home since the 2017–18 season.[3][10] On 9 December 2016, the club announced that the renovated stadium's official name would be Wanda Metropolitano[11] – Wanda for sponsorship reasons and Metropolitano after the 1923–1966 arena which hosted Atlético's matches before Vicente Calderón.[12] As of 15 April 2017, around 48,500 season tickets had been reserved by the club fans.[13]

On 17 September 2017, the Wanda Metropolitano's inaugural event was a 2017–18 La Liga match between Atlético Madrid and Málaga CF. King Felipe VI of Spain attended the match. Atlético's Antoine Griezmann would go on to score the first goal at the new stadium, in which the match ended in a 1–0 win for Atlético.[14] On 27 September 2017, the Metropolitano hosted its first European game as Chelsea beat Atlético Madrid 2–1 and became the first English club to defeat them at home in any European club competition, as well as the first visiting team to win at the new stadium.[15]

It accommodates 68,000 spectators, with all spectator seats covered by a new roof[3] including 7,000 VIP, 79 VIP suites known as Neptuno Premium.[16] 4,000 car parking spaces are available: 1,000 inside the stadium and 3,000 outside.[17]

Notable events

La Peineta hosted the second leg of the 1996 Supercopa de España on 28 August, with Atlético beating FC Barcelona 3–1 on the night but losing 6–5 on aggregate.[18]

During the 1997–98 Segunda División season, Madrid-based club Rayo Vallecano played some home matches at La Peineta, due to renovation works on its stadium, the Campo de Fútbol de Vallecas.[19]

On 21–22 September 2002, La Peineta hosted the 9th IAAF World Cup, an international track and field sporting event sponsored by the International Association of Athletics Federations.[20]

On 20 September 2017, shortly after the inauguration of the stadium, it was selected by UEFA to host the final match of the 2018–19 UEFA Champions League.

Exterior view of the stadium at the inauguration day

The other selected nominee was the Baku National Stadium in Azerbaijan, which will hold the 2018-19 UEFA Europa League final.[21][22] This is the fifth European Cup/UEFA Champions League final held in Madrid, after the 1957, 1969, 1980, and 2010 finals, all held at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium of Atlético's cross-town rival Real Madrid C.F.[23]

On 27 March 2018, the stadium hosted the Spain national football team for the first time for a friendly against Argentina national football team, a 6–1 win.[24]

On 21 April 2018, it hosted the 2018 Copa del Rey Final between Sevilla and Barcelona. Barcelona won the game with a final score of 5–0. During the game Andrés Iniesta was substituted under a standing ovation by the fans since it was his last final with Barcelona.[25]

On 17 March 2019, Metropolitano hosted the Spanish women's league match between Atlético Madrid and Barcelona, with 60,739 spectators attending to the match, thus beating the worldwide record for a women's football match between clubs.[26]

On 1 June 2019, the stadium hosted the 2019 UEFA Champions League Final between Tottenham Hotspur F.C. and Liverpool F.C. in which Klopp's side Liverpool defeated Spurs 2–0.[27]

Transport and access

Estadio Metropolitano Metro station

Inauguration of the new access to Estadio Metropolitano Metro station 2017

The Madrid City Council, the Spanish Ministry of Public Works and Transport and Atletico Madrid signed an agreement to improve access to the stadium. The first phase of the work was planned to be completed before the stadium opened, and included the new entrance from the M-40 towards Avenida Luis Aragonés, the braiding link between the Eisenhower Knot (M-14 and M-21) and the stadium service road, the improvement of the entrance by Arcentales Avenue, the construction of a second vestibule and access to the Estadio Metropolitano Metro station.[28][29] These infrastructures will be paid by the club for a figure close to 30 million euros.[29]

The second phase was planned to take place after the inauguration. According to the announcement by the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, it consists of the opening of the O'Donnell Cercanías Madrid station, which will convert the existing stop into a new station for the Rejas neighborhood. The station will be located at the intersection of the M-21 dual carriageway and M-40 highway, close to Ciudad Pegaso and the Plenilunio Shopping Center and near the new Atletico Madrid stadium.

The City Council is in talks with the Ministry of Public Works and Transport and the Community of Madrid about further improving access to the new stadium and adapting to the substantial increase of traffic to the neighborhood once it is operational. The measures proposed by the municipality of Madrid include a request to extend line 2 of Metro to the future O'Donnell Cercanías Madrid station, as well as the connection of said line to line 7's Estadio Metropolitano Metro station, which has the largest platform in the network.[29][30]

There are three more Metro stations within a two to 20 minute walk of the stadium: Las Rosas (line 2), Canillejas (line 5), and Las Musas (line 7).[31] The buses of EMT Madrid with a stop close to the stadium are lines 28, 38, 48, 140, 153, E2, N5 and N6 (the last two lines are nocturnal buses). The long-distance buses are lines 286, 288 and 289. The EMT operates a special service on match days; one line runs from the Canillejas exchanger to the stadium (SE721 line). Canillejas has connections to Metro line 5 and EMT bus lines 77, 101, 140, 151 and 200.[31]

Construction gallery

• 
  External view of La Peineta before reconstruction in March 2012
• 
  The comb-shaped stand, origin of the nickname of La Peineta, in March 2012
• 
  Pressure ring of the roof in August 2016
• 
  View of the stadium during reconstruction in June 2017
• 
  Inner view of the stadium in August 2017

References

1. "El Ayuntamiento venderá la parcela de La Peineta al Atlético". El Pais.com (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 6 May 2017. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
2. "Atlético de Madrid vs. Real Madrid". laliga.com. Archived from the original on 14 August 2019. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
3. "Wanda Metropolitano". StadiumDB. Archived from the original on 8 July 2018. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
4. "El Wanda, la última solución para el Rayo Majadahonda" [Wanda, the last solution for Rayo Majadahonda] (in Spanish). Marca. 29 June 2018. Archived from the original on 29 June 2018. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
5. "El Atlético ofrece el Wanda Metropolitano como sede fija para la final". Lavanguardia.com. Archived from the original on 5 April 2017. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
6. "2019 Champions League Final: Tottenham vs. Liverpool". 9 May 2019. Archived from the original on 30 April 2019. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
7. "Chinese firm Wanda to sponsor Atletico Madrid's new stadium". Reuters. Archived from the original on 9 June 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
8. "Club Atlético de Madrid 2017-18 UCL matches". UEFA. Archived from the original on 22 December 2017. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
9. "El Ayuntamiento de Madrid bendice la compra de La Peineta por parte del Atlético". El Mundo.es (in Spanish). 23 November 2016. Archived from the original on 10 December 2016. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
10. "Atlético Madrid's new stadium coming along a treat". AS.com. 20 January 2016. Archived from the original on 1 August 2017. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
11. "Presentamos el Wanda Metropolitano". Atletico de Madrid.com (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 12 December 2016. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
12. "Atlético de Madrid". Twitter.com. Archived from the original on 7 April 2017. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
13. "Madrid: New Atletico stadium with season ticket record". Stadium DB.com. Archived from the original on 12 December 2017. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
14. Lowe, Sid (18 September 2017). "A stadium called Wanda: opening night at Atlético Madrid's new home". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 23 September 2017. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
15. Henry, Matthew (27 September 2017). "Atlético Madrid 1–2 Chelsea". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 30 September 2017. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
16. "Premium, el nuevo concepto VIP del Wanda Metropolitano". Atletico de Madrid.com. Archived from the original on 5 April 2017. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
17. "La instalación cuenta con 4.000 plazas de parking dedicadas para los días de partido". Atletico de Madrid.com. Archived from the original on 5 April 2017. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
18. "Madrid – Estadio La Peineta / Wanda Metropolitano". 21 April 2015. Archived from the original on 2 January 2015. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
19. Durán, Luis Fernando (6 September 1997). "El Rayo, desterrado a La Peineta" [The Rayo, exiled to La Peineta] (in Spanish). Madrid: El País. Archived from the original on 28 March 2018. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
20. "IAAF: Results - iaaf.org". IAAF.com. Archived from the original on 24 March 2011. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
21. "Madrid to host UEFA Champions League Final 2019". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 20 September 2017. Archived from the original on 20 September 2017. Retrieved 20 September 2017.
22. "UEFA Champions League schedule (kickoff dates and times will change due to domestic competition)". UEFA.com. Archived from the original on 4 April 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
23. "UEFA Champions League finals". UEFA.com. 20 September 2017. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
24. Bell, Arch (27 March 2018). "Spain smash Argentina for six". Marca. Archived from the original on 28 March 2018. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
25. "Iniesta Ever Last Final With Barca". Archived from the original on 23 April 2018. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
26. "60.739 espectadores en el Wanda: récord de un partido femenino a nivel de clubes" (in Spanish). Marca. Archived from the original on 18 March 2019. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
27. "Liverpool beat Spurs to become champions of Europe for sixth time". BBC. Archived from the original on 5 September 2019. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
28. AS, Diario (23 February 2017). "Consulte en exclusiva los planos de la mejora de los accesos al Wanda Metropolitano | album | AS.com". AS.com (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 28 May 2017. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
29. Morato, Iván. "Así serán la urbanización y los nuevos accesos al Wanda Metropolitano". Esto es Atleti (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 19 June 2017. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
30. "El Wanda Metropolitano y su gigantesca estación de Metro". abc (in Spanish). 30 April 2017. Archived from the original on 14 June 2017. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
31. 20Minutos. "Inauguración del Wanda Metropolitano: accesos y cómo llegar al estadio". 20minutos.es - Últimas Noticias (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 5 October 2017. Retrieved 5 October 2017.

External links

• Gallery in the web of the club (updated)
• Official project video of the stadium
• Estadios de España (in English)
• Non-official website of the expansion works (in Spanish)