The ground today
The Metropolitano Stadium: Capacity, Naming History and Big Nights
Atletico Madrid’s home was not built for Atletico Madrid. It began as a municipal athletics stadium, sat half-finished for two decades, and was rebuilt into a 70,000-seat football ground that has since hosted a Champions League final and a world-record crowd for a women’s club match.
The Building That Was Already There
The original stadium opened on 6 September 1994, inaugurated by the then IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch alongside the Community of Madrid president Joaquin Leguina and the city’s mayor Jose Maria Alvarez del Manzano. It was built for around €42 million and held 20,000.
It went by several names: Estadio de la Comunidad de Madrid, Estadio Olimpico de Madrid and, universally, La Peineta, after the ornamental comb its single curved stand resembled. It was a piece of Olympic bid infrastructure for bids that never came off, and for twenty years it was mostly an athletics venue with one enormous stand and three sides of nothing.
That is the unusual part of the story: the club did not choose an empty site. It inherited a half-stadium and built the other three-quarters around it, purchasing the ground from Madrid City Council in March 2017 for €30.4 million. The reconstruction, by Cruz y Ortiz Arquitectos with FCC as main contractor, cost around €240 million.
Reopening: 16 September 2017
The rebuilt stadium opened on 16 September 2017 with a La Liga match against Malaga. Atletico won 1–0, Antoine Griezmann scored the first goal at the new ground, and King Felipe VI was in attendance.
The name it took was not new either. It revives the Estadio Metropolitano de Madrid, which opened on 13 May 1923, held 35,800, and was Atletico’s home from 1923 to 1936 and again from 1943 until 1966, when the club moved to the Vicente Calderon. The club therefore returned to a name it had left behind fifty-one years earlier, in a different part of the city.
Every name the ground has carried: sort any column
| From | Name | Rights holder | From | Name | Rights holder |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Estadio de la Comunidad de Madrid / La Peineta | Community of Madrid | |||
| 2016 | Wanda Metropolitano | Wanda Group | |||
| 2022 | Civitas Metropolitano | Civitas Pacensis | |||
| 9 Oct 2024 | Riyadh Air Metropolitano | Riyadh Air |
Three sponsors since 2016. The word the club chose is the part that does not change.
Every Name It Has Carried
The naming rights have turned over three times since 2016, which is why supporters, sensibly, call it the Metropolitano and leave the prefix to the sponsors.
Wanda Metropolitano ran from 2016, when the Chinese Wanda Group acquired the rights. Civitas Metropolitano followed, with the real-estate firm Civitas Pacensis taking over at the end of the 2021–22 season. Riyadh Air Metropolitano has been the name since 9 October 2024, when the Saudi carrier became naming rights partner.
The constant through all three is the word the club chose, which is the point of picking a historic name: the sponsor changes and the identity does not.
Getting there: select a mode
Line 7 to Estadio Metropolitano
The dedicated station on line 7 has the largest platform on the Madrid Metro network, a detail that makes more sense walking out after a full house than on the way in.
Las Rosas on line 2, Canillejas on line 5 and Las Musas on line 7 are all within walking distance if the nearest station is congested.
- Primary station
- Estadio Metropolitano (L7)
- Alternatives
- Las Rosas · Canillejas · Las Musas
EMT routes and a matchday service
EMT lines 28, 38, 48, 140, 153, E2, N5 and N6 serve the area, with N5 and N6 running through the night.
Long-distance routes 286, 288 and 289 also stop nearby, and a special matchday service runs as SE721.
- Matchday service
- SE721
- Night buses
- N5, N6
East of the city, near the airport
The ground sits in the San Blas-Canillejas district, in the Rosas neighbourhood, close to the M-40 and to Madrid–Barajas airport.
That is a long way east of the riverbank site the club left in 2017, and the move changed the matchday geography as much as the building.
- District
- San Blas-Canillejas
- Pitch
- 105m × 68m grass
- UEFA category
- Elite (4 stars)
Capacity, and Why the Figure Keeps Moving
The reconstruction opened at 68,456. By September 2023 the figure was 70,460, and further work on skyboxes, expanded VIP seating and a disability platform brought it to 70,692. For concerts the configuration holds around 60,000.
Anyone quoting a capacity for this ground should date it. Three different figures have all been correct within eight years, and the number is still moving.
The playing surface is grass, 105 by 68 metres, and UEFA rates the stadium at its top Elite category.
What it has hosted: sort by date or attendance
| Date | Match | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16 Sep 2017 | First match at the rebuilt ground: Atletico v Malaga | Atletico won 1–0 | — |
| 27 Sep 2017 | Atletico v Chelsea, Champions League | Chelsea won 2–1 | — |
| 27 Mar 2018 | Spain v Argentina, friendly | Spain won 6–1 | — |
| 21 Apr 2018 | Copa del Rey final: Barcelona v Sevilla | Barcelona won 5–0 | — |
| 17 Mar 2019 | Atletico Femenino v Barcelona Femeni | World record for a women's club match | 60739 |
| 1 Jun 2019 | Champions League final: Liverpool v Tottenham | Liverpool won 2–0 | 63272 |
| 29 Sep 2024 | Atletico v Real Madrid | Ground attendance record | 70112 |
Attendance is listed only where the figure is on the record.
Getting There
The ground sits in the San Blas-Canillejas district, in the Rosas neighbourhood, near the M-40 and close to Madrid–Barajas airport, a long way east of the riverbank site the club left in 2017.
Metro line 7 serves Estadio Metropolitano station, which has the largest platform on the Madrid Metro network, a detail that makes more sense on the walk out after a full house than on the way in. Las Rosas on line 2, Canillejas on line 5 and Las Musas on line 7 are all within walking distance. EMT bus lines 28, 38, 48, 140, 153, E2, N5 and N6 serve the area, with long-distance routes 286, 288 and 289 and a special matchday service, SE721.
Know the ground
What It Has Hosted
The 2019 UEFA Champions League final was played there on 1 June 2019, Liverpool beating Tottenham Hotspur 2–0 in front of 63,272. The stadium has been selected to host the final again in 2027, announced on 11 September 2025.
It staged the 2018 Copa del Rey final on 21 April 2018, in which Barcelona beat Sevilla 5–0 and Andres Iniesta was given a standing ovation as he came off in his last final for the club. Spain beat Argentina 6–1 there in a friendly on 27 March 2018.
The record it holds that matters most is not a men’s fixture at all. On 17 March 2019, Atletico Madrid Femenino played Barcelona Femeni in front of 60,739, at the time a world record attendance for a women’s club match. The overall attendance record at the ground is 70,112, set against Real Madrid on 29 September 2024.
One other line belongs in the record: Chelsea won 2–1 there on 27 September 2017, becoming the first English club to beat Atletico at home in European competition.
What is Atletico Madrid's stadium called?
The Metropolitano. Since 9 October 2024 the full sponsored name has been the Riyadh Air Metropolitano; it was the Civitas Metropolitano from the end of the 2021–22 season and the Wanda Metropolitano from 2016. Supporters use "the Metropolitano" throughout.
What is the capacity of the Metropolitano?
70,692 following the addition of skyboxes, expanded VIP seating and a disability platform. It reopened at 68,456 in 2017 and stood at 70,460 in September 2023, so any capacity figure for this ground should be dated.
Was the Metropolitano built from scratch?
No. It was built around an existing municipal athletics stadium that opened on 6 September 1994 and was known as La Peineta. The club bought the ground from Madrid City Council in March 2017 for €30.4 million, and the roughly €240 million reconstruction by Cruz y Ortiz Arquitectos reopened it on 16 September 2017.
How do you get to the Metropolitano by metro?
Line 7 to Estadio Metropolitano, which has the largest platform on the Madrid Metro network. Las Rosas (line 2), Canillejas (line 5) and Las Musas (line 7) are also within walking distance, and numerous EMT bus routes serve the area including a matchday service, SE721.
Has the Metropolitano hosted a Champions League final?
Yes. On 1 June 2019 Liverpool beat Tottenham Hotspur 2–0 in front of 63,272. The stadium was selected on 11 September 2025 to host the final again in 2027.
Why is it called the Metropolitano?
The name revives the Estadio Metropolitano de Madrid, which opened on 13 May 1923, held 35,800 and was Atletico's home from 1923 to 1936 and from 1943 to 1966. Choosing a historic name means the sponsor prefix can change without the identity moving.