San Mamés (1913)

San Mamés
	"La Catedral"
	Fan choreography before a game (2007)
Data
place	Bilbao , Spain
Coordinates	43 ° 15 '48.6 " N , 2 ° 56' 54.2" W Coordinates: 43 ° 15 '48.6 " N , 2 ° 56' 54.2" W.
owner	Athletic Bilbao
opening	August 21, 1913
Renovations	1952/53 and 1982
demolition	summer 2013
surface	Natural grass
architect	Manuel Maria Smith
capacity	39,750 seats
playing area	104 × 68 m
Societies)
	Athletic Bilbao; Basque Country;
Events
	Football World Cup 1982; 1921 Copa del Rey final ;

The Estadio San Mamés was a football stadium in Bilbao . It was the club's own football stadium for the Spanish first division club Athletic Bilbao and had 39,750 seats. The San Mamés is called "La Catedral" by the fans.

history

The venue, designed by Manuel Maria Smith , opened in 1913, making it the oldest stadium in Spain. By today's standards, the construction was a bargain. The club estimated the cost of building the stadium in 1912 at 50,000 pesetas . Most of this sum, around 40,000 pesetas, was paid by the Athletic fans out of their own pockets.

On August 21, 1913, the San Mamés was officially opened. The first goal was scored by Athletics legendary striker Pichichi , in whose honor a bust was erected under the roof of the main stand.

In 1952 and 1953 the first extensive renovation of the San Mamés took place. During this time, the legendary Arco ( German arch ) was built, a metal frame that spans the entire grandstand and stabilizes the roof. This means that the view of the playing field is not obstructed by supporting pillars and other visual restrictions. The Arco is also said to survive the demolition of the old stadium. The San Mamés underwent the last major modernization on the occasion of the Soccer World Cup in 1982 . On June 16, 1982 the World Cup preliminary round match between England and France , the audience record with 44,172.

The San Mamés was based very closely on the design of English stadiums. Hardly any other stadium in Europe was as close to the field as here. There were no fences or ball-stop nets. Until a few years ago, not even perimeter advertising bothered viewers. Bilbao, as the last Spanish club, only allowed this in the early 2000s.

New building

In March 2006, the city of Bilbao and the club decided to replace the stadium, which no longer meets today's standards, with a new building. The construction took place in two phases. In phase 1, the field of the new stadium was rotated 90 degrees to the previous place. Three new grandstands were erected on the adjacent former site of the old Bilbao Fair, where all the buildings have already been demolished. At the beginning of the 2013/14 season , football operations moved into the new stadium, which then had 36,159 seats, and the old stadium was demolished. On the site of the old stadium, the fourth stand of the new stadium and a new campus for the University of Bilbao were built in phase 2. The new stadium has a capacity of 53,332 spectators.

On May 26, 2010, honorary president and record player José Ángel Iribar broke ground for the new San Mamés . On May 26, 2013, the last league game, a 0-1 defeat in the 90th minute against Levante UD , took place in San Mamés. With a friendly game between Athletic and a selection from the region in early June 2013 , the club and its supporters said goodbye to the almost 100-year-old home stadium. The demolition of the San Mamés began on June 6, 2013.