Metropolitano Stadium facts for kids
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Metropolitano
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| Full name | Cívitas Metropolitano |
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| Location | Madrid, Spain |
| Public transit |   at Estadio Metropolitano |
| Owner | Community of Madrid (1992–2002) City of Madrid (2002–2017) Atlético Madrid (2017–present) |
| Operator | Atlético Madrid |
| Capacity | 70,000 |
| Record attendance | 67,942 (vs Real Madrid, 28 September 2019) |
| 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) |
| Architect | Cruz y Ortiz Arquitectos |
| Main contractors | FCC |
| Tenants | |
| Atlético Madrid (2017–present) Rayo Majadahonda (2018) Spain national football team (selected matches) |
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The Metropolitano Stadium (in Spanish: Estadio Metropolitano), also called Cívitas Metropolitano, is a large sports stadium in Madrid, Spain. It has been the home of the famous football team Atlético Madrid since the 2017–18 football season. You can find it in the Rosas neighborhood, which is part of the San Blas-Canillejas area of Madrid.
The stadium was first built to help Madrid try to host the 1997 World Athletics Championships. It opened on September 6, 1994. It closed in 2004 when Madrid tried to host the 2016 Olympics, but didn't win. In 2013, Atlético Madrid took over the stadium. It was completely updated and reopened on September 16, 2017. The first game was between Atlético Madrid and Málaga in La Liga. When it first closed, it could hold 20,000 people. After the big update, it could hold 68,456 fans! The stadium also hosted the exciting 2019 UEFA Champions League Final on June 1, 2019.
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What's in a Name?
This stadium has had a few different names over the years. It was once known as Estadio de la Comunidad de Madrid, which means "Madrid Community Stadium." It was also called Estadio Olímpico de Madrid, or "Madrid Olympic Stadium." But many people knew it best by its nickname, Estadio de La Peineta, which means "The Comb Stadium." This was because of its unique shape.
Later, a Chinese company called Wanda Group bought the rights to name the stadium. So, it became known as Wanda Metropolitano. However, for big European football events run by UEFA, it's still called Estadio Metropolitano. This is because of UEFA's rules about sponsorships.
Stadium History
In the early 1990s, officials in Madrid wanted the city to host the World Athletics Championships in 1997. They started building a new stadium in eastern Madrid. It was located near the M-40 motorway and close to the Madrid–Barajas Airport.
Building the stadium began in 1990. It was designed by architects Cruz y Ortiz. The stadium was finished in November 1993 and cost about €45 million. The official opening happened in September 1994. Important people like Juan Antonio Samaranch, who was the head of the Olympics, were there. This first stadium had one level of seats and could hold 20,000 people. It got the nickname La Peineta (the comb) because it looked like a traditional hair comb.
However, Athens ended up hosting the 1997 World Championships in Athletics. So, for its first ten years, La Peineta was mostly used for smaller sports events and cultural shows.
A Brand New Stadium
In 2004, the stadium closed down. This was because Madrid was planning to bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics. The next year, Madrid's bid for the Olympics didn't win. In December 2008, Atlético Madrid's president and the mayor of Madrid agreed that Atlético Madrid would move to this stadium. They also agreed that the stadium would be renovated. The club was supposed to move in 2013, but this was delayed many times. The delays happened because of more Olympic bids and money problems.
After Madrid lost another Olympic bid in 2009, this time for the 2016 Olympics, many ideas came up for what to do with the stadium. In November 2011, work began to take parts of the stadium down. In spring 2012, more work was done. The lower seats and the running track were removed.
Madrid tried again for the 2020 Olympics, but they also lost in September 2013. A few days later, on September 11, 2013, Atlético Madrid announced their plans. They would build a new stadium right where La Peineta was. The club officially became the owner of the stadium.
The new stadium was planned to replace the old Vicente Calderón Stadium. It would be Atlético's home for the 2017–18 season. On December 9, 2016, the club announced the new stadium's official name: Wanda Metropolitano. "Wanda" was for the sponsor, and "Metropolitano" was a nod to an older stadium where Atlético played from 1923 to 1966. In March 2017, the club officially bought the stadium from the City Council of Madrid for €30.4 million. By April 15, 2017, about 48,500 season tickets had already been bought by fans.
On September 17, 2017, the Estadio Metropolitano hosted its very first event. It was a 2017–18 La Liga football match between Atlético Madrid and Málaga CF. The King of Spain, Felipe VI of Spain, was there to watch. Atlético's player Antoine Griezmann scored the first goal in the new stadium. Atlético won the game 1-0. On September 27, 2017, the Metropolitano hosted its first European game. Chelsea beat Atlético Madrid 2-1. Chelsea became the first English club to win against Atlético at home in a European competition. They were also the first visiting team to win at the new stadium.
The stadium can hold 68,000 fans. All the seats are covered by a new roof. This includes 7,000 special VIP seats and 79 VIP suites called Neptuno Premium. There are also 4,000 parking spaces available. 1,000 of these are inside the stadium, and 3,000 are outside. The Estadio Metropolitano was also the first stadium in the world to use 100% LED lighting.
Cool Events at the Stadium
Even before its big renovation, La Peineta hosted some important events:
- On August 28, 1996, it hosted the second game of the 1996 Supercopa de España. Atlético beat FC Barcelona 3-1, but lost the overall championship.
- During the 1997–98 football season, another Madrid team, Rayo Vallecano, played some of their home games here. This was because their own stadium was being renovated.
- On September 21–22, 2002, La Peineta hosted the 9th IAAF World Cup. This was a big international track and field event.
After the stadium reopened, it quickly became a place for major events:
- On September 20, 2017, soon after it opened, UEFA chose it to host the final match of the 2018–19 UEFA Champions League. This was the fifth time a European Cup/Champions League final was held in Madrid. The others were at Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, the home of Atlético's rival Real Madrid.
- On March 27, 2018, the stadium hosted the Spain national football team for the first time. They played a friendly game against Argentina and won 6-1.
- On April 21, 2018, it hosted the 2018 Copa del Rey Final between Sevilla and Barcelona. Barcelona won the game 5-0. During this game, Andrés Iniesta was cheered by all the fans. It was his last final with Barcelona.
- On March 17, 2019, the Metropolitano hosted a Spanish women's league match between Atlético Madrid and Barcelona. A record 60,739 fans came to watch! This set a new worldwide record for a women's football match between clubs.
- On June 1, 2019, the stadium hosted the 2019 UEFA Champions League Final between Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool. Liverpool won the game 2-0.
- On June 1, 2022, the famous band the Rolling Stones held a concert there. It was the first show of their Sixty tour.
- On July 18, 2023, The Weeknd held a concert there as part of his Europe tour.
- Between 2024 and 2026, the stadium will host the final of the World Rugby Sevens Series.
Getting to the Stadium
The Madrid City Council, the Spanish Ministry of Public Works, and Atletico Madrid worked together to make it easier to get to the stadium. The first part of this work was finished before the stadium opened. It included new roads from the M-40 motorway and better ways to get to the stadium by car. It also added a second entrance and improved access to the Estadio Metropolitano Metro station. Atlético Madrid paid about 30 million euros for these improvements.
More improvements are planned for the future. These include opening the O'Donnell Cercanías Madrid train station. This new station will help people from the Rejas neighborhood get to the stadium. It will be near the M-21 and M-40 highways, close to Ciudad Pegaso and the Plenilunio Shopping Center.
The City Council is also talking about even more ways to improve transport. They want to extend Metro line 2 to the future O'Donnell train station. They also want to connect this line to line 7's Estadio Metropolitano Metro station, which has the biggest platform in the whole Metro system.
There are three other Metro stations that are a short walk from the stadium: Las Rosas (line 2), Canillejas (line 5), and Las Musas (line 7). Many city buses also stop near the stadium, including lines 28, 38, 48, 140, 153, E2, N5, and N6 (the last two are night buses). On match days, a special bus service runs from the Canillejas Metro station directly to the stadium. Canillejas also connects to Metro line 5 and other bus lines.
Construction gallery
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External view of La Peineta before reconstruction in March 2012
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The comb-shaped stand, origin of the nickname of La Peineta, in March 2012
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Pressure ring of the roof in August 2016
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View of the stadium during reconstruction in June 2017
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Inner view of the stadium in August 2017
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See also
In Spanish: Estadio Metropolitano (Madrid) para niños
