ATLETICO MADRID are fast becoming one of the biggest powers in world football – but one thing that was missing was a state-of-the-art stadium.
All that is about to change next year when they move into a beautiful new 67,000 capacity ground – and the club have released an amazing animation clip of what it will look like.
Similar to the Allianz Arena, home of Bayern Munich, the new stadium in the north-east part of the Spanish capital will have bright LED lights in the roof that will make the stadium change colour.
The new stadium was announced in 2009 and will be ready for the start of the next season, with construction already well underway.
But it is on the site of an athletics stadium called La Peineta, which was opened in 1994 and has since formed part of three unsuccessful bids for Madrid to host the Olympic Games.
The project has been hit by various setbacks over the years, including planning problems around a project to build 30 storey residential towers on the Calderon site, and debates with local authorities about the provision of transport links to the new ground.
It will see the club move from the ageing Estadio Vicente Calderon, which is based more centrally in Madrid with a motorway that runs under one of the stands.
According to their website, the ground is “designed to meet the highest standards of comfort, security and visibility.
“The club has decided to prioritize the spaciousness, the comfort and the safety of the supporters before the option of a having a larger capacity.
“In order to access and enjoy the seats in the most satisfactory way, the distance between the rows has been increased.”
The state-of-the-art system will encompass LED lighting for the pitch, stadium facade and hospitality areas and while Vicente Calderon has an fantastic atmosphere, there is no doubt the new ground will see Atletico truly become one of the biggest forces in the global game and rival cross-town enemy Real Madrid.
Season tickets for 2017-18 at the new stadium are already on sale with fans excited about the club’s future.
Meanwhile, 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’. 