Vicente Calderón Stadium

Vicente Calderón

UEFA Category 4 Stadium
Full name	Estadio Vicente Calderón
Former names	Estadio Manzanares (1966—1971)
Location	Arganzuela, Madrid, Spain
Coordinates
Owner	Atlético Madrid
Operator	Atlético Madrid
Capacity	54,907
Field size	105 m × 70 m (115 yd × 77 yd)
Surface	Grass
Construction
Broke ground	1961
Built	1966
Opened	2 October 1967
Renovated	1982
Architect	Javier Barroso Miguel Ángel García Lomas
Tenants
Atlético Madrid

The Vicente Calderón Stadium (Spanish: Estadio Vicente Calderón [esˈtaðjo βiˈθente kaldeˈɾon]) is the home stadium of La Liga football club Atlético Madrid and is located in the Arganzuela district of Spanish capital Madrid. The stadium was originally called the Manzanares Stadium (Spanish: Estadio Manzanares [esˈtaðjo manθaˈnaɾes]), but this was later changed to the Vicente Calderón Stadium, after the famous Atlético club president. The seats are laid out in red and white stripes, the colours of Atlético's shirts. The stadium is located in the heart of Madrid, on the banks of the Manzanares.

Vicente Calderón regularly hosts international matches of the Spanish national team. Since 2003, the Vicente Calderón Stadium has been classified as a 5 Star UEFA Elite stadium and was the first Spanish stadium to attain this classification.

History

Vicente Calderón Stadium

The stadium from the exit of the players' changing room.

On 17 March 1961, Javier Barroso bought land for the construction of a new stadium, to replace the Estadio Metropolitano de Madrid. In the same year, work began on the new stadium.

To finance the new stadium, Atlético Madrid had to make a debt issue three years previously, in 1958, in the form of mortgage bonds that were underwritten mostly by club shareholders and members.

The ground opened in 1966, and was named the Estadio del Manzanares until 1972.

It has a capacity for 54,907, and is listed by UEFA as being a five star stadium.

A notable, and rather spectacular feature of the Vicente Calderón, is that the M-30 dual carriageway, running from the South Node Toledo Bridge, passes below one of the grandstands.

Future change of venue

On 30 July 2007, Atlético Madrid, Mahou brewery and Ayuntamiento de Madrid signed an agreement to reclassify the land that is currently occupied by the Vicente Calderón stadium and the Mahou brewery, agreeing that Atlético would move within 3 years to the Estadio Olímpico de Madrid, better known as Estadio La Peineta, which is currently being renovated in preparation for Atlético's tenancy. After reconstruction, La Peineta will hold 73,000 spectators and will feature fully covered stands. After 2016, the stadium will become the property of Atlético Madrid. The Vicente Calderón Stadium will be demolished, and a park will be built in its place, which is to be named the "Park Atlético Madrid". The decision to demolish the stadium was not well received by some of the Atlético fans who were against the relocation of the club, as they considered it to be a bad move if money was not being used to improve the club itself. The protests were led by the Save the Calderon Group and the Atlético Supporters Club: Asociación Señales de Humo.

Panoramic view of the stadium

Vicente Calderón Stadium from southern goal.

Access

The Estadio Vicente Calderón is located on the banks of the Manzanares.

In addition, the stadium can be accessed via the Madrid Metro. The closest stations are: Pirámides Station and Marqués de Vadillo Station, both of which are on Line 5 of the Madrid Metro.

World Cup 1982 matches at the Calderón

The stadium hosted three games in the 1982 FIFA World Cup

Date	Team #1	Res.	Team #2	Round
28 June 1982	Austria	0–1	France	Group 4 (Second Round)
1 July 1982	Austria	2–2	Northern Ireland	Group 4 (Second Round)
4 July 1982	Northern Ireland	1–4	France	Group 4 (Second Round)

External links

• Estadios de España
• Atletico Madrid stadium page at Madrid Guide Spain
• Stadium Guide Article
• Stadium photos at World Stadiums
• El mundo
• Marca
• clubatleticodemadrid.com
• elconfidencial.com