San Mamés Stadium (2013)
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San Mamés (also known as ''Nuevo San Mamés'' or ''San Mames Barria'') is an
all-seater An all-seater stadium is a sports stadium in which every spectator has a seat. This is commonplace in professional association football stadiums in nations such as the United Kingdom, Spain, and the Netherlands. Most association football and Ame ...
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
stadium A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...
in Rafael Moreno Pitxitxi Kalea,
Bilbao ) , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = 275 px , map_caption = Interactive map outlining Bilbao , pushpin_map = Spain Basque Country#Spain#Europe , pushpin_map_caption ...
, Basque Country,
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
. Inaugurated on 16 September 2013, the stadium replaced the "old" San Mamés as the home of
Athletic Bilbao Athletic Club ( eu, Bilboko Athletic Kluba; es, Athletic Club de Bilbao), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao or just Athletic, is a professional Association football, football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Basque Country (autonomous com ...
. With a capacity of 53,331 seats, San Mamés is the 7th-largest stadium in Spain and the largest in the Basque Country.


History


Planning and construction

The first stages of planning occurred as early as 2004, with initial contracts signed late on in 2006, after receiving approval to build in March 2006. The new stadium was to be built next to the existing San Mamés on land that was occupied until 2003 by the Bilbao International Trade Fair. On 26 May 2010 at 12:00 the ground-breaking ceremony took place at San Mamés. The event was attended by: the ''
Lehendakari The President of the Basque Government ( eu, Eusko Jaurlaritzako lehendakaria, es, presidente del Gobierno Vasco), usually known in the Basque language as the Lehendakari ( eu, lehendakari, es, lendakari), is the head of government of the Basq ...
'' of the Basque Country,
Patxi López Francisco Javier "Patxi" López Álvarez (; born 4 October 1959) is a Spanish politician serving as Member of the Congress of Deputies and chair of the Constitutional Committee. Previously, he has served as President of the Autonomous Communi ...
; the Deputy-General of
Biscay Biscay (; eu, Bizkaia ; es, Vizcaya ) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilbao. B ...
, José Luis Bilbao; the Mayor of Bilbao, Iñaki Azkuna; the Chairman of
Bilbao Bizkaia Kutxa Bilbao Bizkaia Kutxa (BBK) (Basque for 'Bilbao Biscay Savings Bank') was a Spanish savings bank based in the province of Biscay in the Basque Country, Spain. Its full name was Bilbao Bizkaia Kutxa, Aurrezki Kutxa eta Bahitetxea (in Spanish Caja B ...
, Mario Fernández; the President of the
Royal Spanish Football Federation The Royal Spanish Football Federation ( es, Real Federación Española de Fútbol; RFEF) is the governing body of football in Spain. It is based in La Ciudad del Fútbol of Las Rozas, a municipality near Madrid. It was founded on 14 October 1909 ...
,
Ángel María Villar Ángel María Villar Llona (born 21 January 1950) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. After having represented Athletic Bilbao during a full decade (appearing in 361 official matches and scoring 11 goals), ...
and the President of Athletic Club, Fernando García Macua. In a symbolic display, a piece of turf and a brick from the facade were removed from the old stadium and carried to the adjacent construction site by a human chain including famous players Iribar, Larrazábal, Iturraspe and Muniain as well as members of the
youth system In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team in the future if ...
, the women's team, the
reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players under contract to a club but who do not normally play in matches for the first team. Reserve teams often include back-up players from the first team, young players who need playing time to i ...
and its oldest and youngest registered supporters. Initially, three-quarters of the new stadium were built and then matches took place in it, while the old one was demolished to make room to complete the new arena. Despite the economical woes the country was going through at the time, especially the Basque people, 52.6% of the total €211 million (£178 million) cost of the stadium was paid by public institution - some by the
Basque Government The Basque Government ( eu, Eusko Jaurlaritza, es, Gobierno Vasco) is the governing body of the Basque Autonomous Community of Spain. The head of the Basque government is known as the ''Lehendakari''. The Lehendakari is appointed by the Basque P ...
(€50m), some by the
Bilbao City Council The Bilbao City Council () is the ayuntamiento of Bilbao (Spain). Its headquarter, the Bilbao City Hall, is located in the Ernesto Erkoreka Plaza. The city council is made up of an executive body and a normative municipal plenary. The executive b ...
(€11m) and some by the Biscay Provincial Council (€50m including land), as well as Athletic (€50m including land) and BBK/
Kutxabank Kutxabank is a Spanish bank founded and based in Bilbao. It was officially created on 1 January 2012 out of the merger of three Basque financial institutions operating in their respective provinces: Bilbao Bizkaia Kutxa (BBK), based in Bilbao; G ...
(€50m), on the proviso that the stadium would include facilities for use by the public such as a
sports centre A leisure centre in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia (also called aquatic centres), Singapore and Canada is a purpose-built building or site, usually owned and operated by the city, borough council or municipal district council, where people ...
. It had been believed that the
European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...
were investigating this use of public funds for any possible impropriety in the deal, but in late 2013 it was confirmed by
Joaquín Almunia Joaquín Almunia Amann (born 17 June 1948) is a Spanish politician and formerly, prominent member of the European Commission. During his tenure in the two Barroso Commissions, he was European commissioner responsible for economic and monetary a ...
, the commissioner for competition at the time (and an Athletic supporter from Bilbao), that no such case was being pursued.


Initial opening

San Mamés was inaugurated on 16 September 2013, 102 days after the final game at the old stadium. At that time the official capacity of the partially completed arena was 35,686. The first match was a league match played at 22:00 between the hosts Athletic Club and
Celta Vigo Real Club Celta de Vigo (; ), commonly known as Celta de Vigo or simply Celta, is a Spanish professional football club based in Vigo, Galicia, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spanish football. Nicknamed ''Os Celestes'' (The Sky Blues) ...
, which the local team won 3–2. A crowd of 33,000 was in attendance. The distinction of being the first ever goalscorer at the stadium went to Celta's
Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...
, while the first Athletic scorer was
Mikel San José Mikel San José Domínguez (; ; born 30 May 1989) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder or centre-back. After starting out at Liverpool's reserves San José joined Athletic Bilbao in 2009, initially on ...
a few minutes later. Prior to the match, the captains of each of the club's age group teams, club captain Carlos Gurpegui and president
Josu Urrutia Josu Urrutia Tellería (born 10 April 1968) is a Spanish former Association football, footballer who played as a Midfielder#Defensive midfielder, defensive midfielder. His 17-year senior career was solely connected with Athletic Bilbao for which ...
took part in a short presentation accompanied by a traditional ''Aurresku'' dance. The Celta match was Athletic's second home fixture of that season. As the new stadium was not quite ready, their opening game of the campaign (a 2–0 win over
Osasuna Club Atlético Osasuna (, ''Osasuna Athletic Club''), or simply Osasuna, is a Spanish professional football club in Pamplona, Navarre. Founded on 24 October 1920, the club currently plays in La Liga, holding home games at the 23,576-capacity El ...
) was played at
Anoeta :'' Anoeta is also a neighborhood in San Sebastián/Donostia, Spain, home to a namesake football stadium and cycle track.'' Anoeta is a town located in the province of Gipuzkoa, in the autonomous community of Basque Country, in the north of ...
in Donostia-San Sebastián, home of rivals
Real Sociedad Real Sociedad de Fútbol, S.A.D., more commonly referred to as Real Sociedad (; ''Royal Society''), La Real in Spanish, Erreala in Basque, is a Spanish professional sports club in the city of San Sebastián, Basque Country, founded on 7 Septem ...
.


Completion

The first match in the stadium under its full capacity was a Champions League playoff tie against
Napoli Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
on 27 August 2014, attended by 49,017. Athletic won 3–1 to progress to the group stage of the competition.


Roof extension

Since the stadium's opening, supporters had frequently voiced their displeasure at the roof, which did not protect all seats from Bilbao's frequently rainy conditions. Towards the end of the 2015–16 season, throughout the summer break and at the outset of 2016–17, extensions were added to the roof at a cost of €12.6 million, estimated to increase the effectiveness against wet weather by 70%. Finally, on 20 November 2016 the works were completed and the roof extension was fully functional in the 1–0 victory against
Villarreal CF Villarreal Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. ( ca-valencia, Vila-real Club de Futbol, S.A.D.), usually abbreviated to Villarreal CF or simply Villarreal, is a professional football club based in Villarreal, in the Castellón province of eastern Spain, th ...
in a
La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men's ...
match. The lack of sunlight onto the pitch from the roof is offset by internal lighting modules which maintain the condition and growth of the turf, a system used in other Spanish stadiums.


Stadium features

The stadium is equipped with a sophisticated lighting system on its exterior which can be programmed to illuminate the hundreds of panels on its facade (which by day are white) in solid colours, or to show flashing or moving graphics (such as when a goal is scored, or the
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...
star-ball motif when Athletic qualified for that competition). It has similarities in this respect with the
Allianz Arena Allianz Arena (; known as Fußball Arena München for UEFA competitions) is a football stadium in Munich, Bavaria, Germany with a 70,000 seating capacity for international matches and 75,000 for domestic matches. Widely known for its exterior ...
in Munich. It is also situated closer to the
Nervión , name_etymology = , image = Nervion.jpg , image_size = 300px , image_caption = River Nervion with Zubizuri footbridge. , map = , map_size = , map_caption = , pushpin_map ...
than its predecessor, overlooking the river from a high bank. Its elevated position presents a striking image of the stadium, particularly when illuminated.A new Cathedral: Athletic Club’s move to a new San Mamés
Simon Lloyd, Joe.co.uk
Since 2015 the stadium has also featured a giant external video screen (15.5m X 9.8m), placed in a prominent position at the same point where the original San Mamés featured a large club crest. It looks onto the '' Pozas'', a street running to the stadium from the heart of the city which is a popular walking route for fans on matchdays and is lined with Athletic-themed bars. It is a club tradition for captains of teams visiting the Athletic ground for the first time pay homage to the fallen idol of its early years, Pichichi, by leaving a bouquet of flowers at a bust of the player. In the old stadium, this was situated near the directors' box. Despite concerns that this iconic feature might not be accommodated at the new stadium, a suitable spot was identified at the entrance to the players' tunnel, allowing the tradition to continue at the new location from 2013 onwards. In August 2017, Athletic opened their new club museum at the stadium. The feature had been absent since the closure of the old stadium over four years earlier. Among the prominent features of the museum is a stuffed lion (the club nickname) 'won' from the president of
Deportivo Alavés Deportivo Alavés, S.A.D. (; ''Sporting Alavés''), usually abbreviated to Alavés, is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club based in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Álava, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of the ...
in 1984 after he lost a bet with the Athletic directors that the club would not be able to repeat their
1982–83 La Liga The 1982–83 La Liga season, the 52nd since its establishment, started on September 4, 1982, and finished on May 1, 1983. Teams and locations League table Position by round Results table Pichichi Trophy {{DEFAULTSO ...
win the following season.


Special events and information

The new San Mamés was the venue for three friendly fixtures played by the unofficial Basque Country team between 2013 and 2016. A 'beam back' event was held at the stadium in May 2015 for the
2015 Copa del Rey Final The 2015 Copa del Rey Final was an association football match on 30 May 2015 to decide the winner of the 2014–15 Copa del Rey, the 113th edition of Spain's premier football cup since its establishment (including two seasons where two rival e ...
for fans who could not attend the game in
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, with giant video screens installed on the pitch that the spectators could view from the stands. On 5 November 2015, San Mamés was awarded as the Sports Building of the Year in the
World Architecture Festival The World Architecture Festival (WAF) is an annual festival and awards ceremony, one of the most prestigious events dedicated to the architecture and development industry. The first four events were held in Barcelona, from 2008 to 2011, at which p ...
held in Singapore. In 2017 there was a realistic possibility that the stadium could host the
Copa del Rey The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footbal ...
final for the first time after
Deportivo Alavés Deportivo Alavés, S.A.D. (; ''Sporting Alavés''), usually abbreviated to Alavés, is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club based in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Álava, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of the ...
from nearby
Vitoria-Gasteiz es, vitoriano, vitoriana, , population_density_km2 = auto , blank_name_sec1 = Official language(s) , blank_info_sec1 = Spanish, Basque , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
qualified for the showpiece game to face
FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. Founded ...
. However, the stadium's controlling agency announced that it would not be feasible to accommodate the final on 27 May due to holding a
Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1985. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band comprised vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKa ...
concert on 30 May. The Copa final was subsequently assigned to the
Vicente Calderón Stadium The Vicente Calderón Stadium ( es, Estadio Vicente Calderón ) was the home stadium of Atlético Madrid from its completion in 1966 to 2017, with a seating capacity of 54,907 and located on the banks of the Manzanares, in the Arganzuela distric ...
in Madrid, the 14th time that venue has hosted the final but significant due to it being one of the last matches prior to its replacement by the rebuilt Estadio Metropolitano. The stadium hosted the 2018 finals of the
European Rugby Challenge Cup The EPCR Challenge Cup is an annual rugby union competition organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the second-tier competition for clubs based in European leagues behind the European Rugby Champions Cup. From its inception ...
and Champions Cup. The match between Leinster and Racing 92 set the stadium's single-game attendance record at 52,282. The stadium hosted a MTV World Stage concert headlined by
Berri Txarrak Berri Txarrak (''Bad News'' in English) is a Navarrese rock power trio whose songs are sung in Basque. It was founded in 1994 in Lekunberri, Navarre, Spain. History Berri Txarrak originated in Lekunberri, Navarre, Spain in 1994 as a parallel p ...
,
Muse In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the ...
and
Crystal Fighters Crystal Fighters are an English-Spanish electronic music band, formed in 2007, in London, England, and in Navarre, Spain. Their debut album, ''Star of Love'', was released in October 2010 in the UK and was released in the US through Atlantic Re ...
on 3 November 2018, as part of the events related to the
2018 MTV Europe Music Awards The 2018 MTV EMAs (also known as the MTV Europe Music Awards) was held at the Bizkaia Arena ( Bilbao Exhibition Centre) in Barakaldo, part of Greater Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain, on 4 November 2018. The ceremony's host was Hailee Steinfeld. Thi ...
being held in Bilbao. On 30 January 2019, San Mamés hosted a
Copa de la Reina Copa or COPA may refer to: COPA COPA may refer to: * Computer Operator Programming Assistant. trade of ITI * Child Online Protection Act, a former U.S. law to protect minors from certain material on the internet * Canadian Owners and Pilots Ass ...
match between
Athletic Bilbao Athletic Club ( eu, Bilboko Athletic Kluba; es, Athletic Club de Bilbao), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao or just Athletic, is a professional Association football, football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Basque Country (autonomous com ...
and
Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), known simply as Atleti in the Spanish-speaking world and commonly referred to at international level as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish profess ...
that beat the Spanish attendance record for a women's football match with 48,121 spectators. The neutralised start of stage 13 in the
2019 Vuelta a España The 2019 Vuelta a España was a three-week Grand Tour cycling stage race that took place in Spain, Andorra and France between 24 August and 15 September 2019. The race was the 74th edition of the Vuelta a España and is the final Grand Tour of t ...
included a lap of the pitch by the race director's car followed by the riders. Although a large crowd had gathered outside the stadium, the public were not allowed inside to view the event. Two cyclists (
Edward Theuns Edward Theuns (born 30 April 1991) is a Belgian racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . He rode for his national team at the 2014 UCI Road World Championships. Career Theuns made his debut for in 2014. He took his first victor ...
and
Pierre Latour Pierre Latour (born 12 October 1993) is a French cyclist, who currently rides for UCI ProTeam . He is a stage winner of the Vuelta a España, and twice the winner of French National Time Trial Championships. Career Latour was born in Romans-sur ...
) dismounted to mime taking a penalty. A similar event had preceded stage 5 of the 2017 Tour of the Basque Country.


UEFA Euro 2020

On 19 September 2014, San Mamés was selected as one of the 13 venues to host matches at
UEFA Euro 2020 The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2020) or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe ...
. It was to host three group stage matches and one Round of 16 match in the tournament.
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
would have played all their group matches at the stadium, the first time the national team played in the Basque Country for more than 50 years (the old San Mamés hosted six games between 1921 and 1967 and a single fixture was played in
San Sebastián San Sebastian, officially known as Donostia–San Sebastián (names in both local languages: ''Donostia'' () and ''San Sebastián'' ()) is a city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality located in the Basque Country (autonomous community), B ...
in 1923). However, ultimately San Mamés was replaced by
Estadio de La Cartuja Estadio La Cartuja (), officially known as Estadio La Cartuja de Sevilla, is a multi-purpose stadium situated in the Isla de la Cartuja in Seville, Spain. It is used mostly for football and it is commonly referred to as simply 'La Cartuja'. ...
in
Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...
due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
in Spain, with infection rates higher in the Basque Country than in Andalusia at the time of making final arrangements for the tournament in April 2021. On 16 July 2021, the UEFA Executive Committee announced that due to the withdrawal of hosting rights for Euro 2020, San Mamés was given hosting rights for the 2024 UEFA Women's Champions League Final and the 2025 UEFA Europa League Final. This was part of a settlement agreement by UEFA to recognise the efforts and financial investment made to host UEFA Euro 2020.


Concerts


Access

The stadium is well served by public transport: it is located across the street from the city's
Termibus Bilbao Intermodal, previously known as Termibus, is the main bus station of Bilbao ( Basque Country, Spain) and it is located beside San Mamés Stadium. The bus terminal is linked to the ''San Mamés'' underground, tram and commuter rail station ...
regional
bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...
station, and has a dedicated station - '' San Mamés (Metro Bilbao)'' which links the
Bilbao tram The Bilbao tram ( eu, Bilboko tranbia, es, Tranvía de Bilbao) is a tram system in Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain. Operated by Euskotren under the brand Euskotren Tranbia (which also manages the tram system in Vitoria-Gasteiz), it comprises a s ...
, metro/underground and
commuter rail Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter rail systems are con ...
networks. The major AP-8 road is also nearby. The stadium is also within a reasonable walking distance from most areas of the city centre, e.g. approximately 2 km from ''
Casco Viejo or in Spanish or or in Basque are different names for the medieval neighbourhood of Bilbao, part of the Ibaiondo district. The names mean ''Seven Streets'' or ''Old Town'' respectively and it used to be the walled part of the town until the e ...
'' (the old town).


References


External links


Stadium profile at Athletic Club official website
*
San Mames Stadium IDOM websiteNew San Mamés Stadium Unofficial SiteEstadios de España

Unofficial stadium guide
{{DEFAULTSORT:San Mames Athletic Bilbao Football venues in the Basque Country (autonomous community) Sports venues completed in 2013 Sport in Bilbao Buildings and structures in Bilbao Tourist attractions in Bilbao Museums in Bilbao 2013 establishments in the Basque Country (autonomous community) Estuary of Bilbao