Metropolitano Stadium

The stadium was formerly known as Estadio de la Comunidad de Madrid (Community of Madrid Stadium), Estadio Olímpico de Madrid (Madrid Olympic Stadium), and more commonly by its nickname Estadio de La Peineta (The Comb Stadium). In 2016, naming rights were acquired by the Wanda Group, a Chinese real estate company. Following the expiration of the deal with the Wanda Group at the end of 2021–22 season, Cívitas Pacensis, a real estate firm, became the naming rights partner. On 9 October 2024, Riyadh Air, Saudi Arabia's second flag carrier and Atlético's sponsor, became the naming rights partner. Due to UEFA sponsorship regulations the stadium is known as in UEFA marketing materials. ==History==

During the early 1990s the Sports Council of the Community of Madrid promoted the city's bid to host the World Athletics Championships in 1997. The preparations began for a stadium in eastern Madrid, next to the M-40 motorway and close to the Madrid–Barajas Airport. Construction of the new stadium began in 1990 and was based on a design proposed by Cruz y Ortiz. It was completed in November 1993 at a cost of €45 million, and the inauguration took place in September 1994 in front of then IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch, then Community of Madrid president Joaquín Leguina, and then mayor of Madrid José María Álvarez del Manzano. The single seating tier stadium with a capacity of 20,000 seats became known as La Peineta (the comb) because of its similarity with a traditional hair comb. The 1997 World Championships in Athletics were eventually awarded to Athens in 1995, and La Peineta was used for minor sports and cultural events during the first decade of its existence. ==New stadium==

In 2004, the stadium was closed for a future project upon the Madrid bid for the 2012 Olympics. The following year, the bid failed. In December 2008, Atlético's president Enrique Cerezo and mayor of Madrid Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón signed an agreement indicating that Atlético Madrid would eventually move to the stadium in the following years and for the renovations to begin. The club was initially supposed to move to the new stadium in 2013, but this was pushed back numerous times due to Olympic bids and the economic crisis. Following another defeat of Madrid's Olympic bid in 2009, this time for the 2016 Olympics, many proposals were made for the future use of the stadium. In November 2011, the first demolition works were carried out at the stadium. In Spring 2012, more works were carried out, this time with the removal of the lower seating tier and the removal of the athletics track. The new stadium was scheduled to replace the Vicente Calderón Stadium as Atletico's home for the 2017–18 season. On 9 December 2016, the club announced that the renovated stadium's official name would be Wanda Metropolitano – Wanda for sponsorship reasons and Metropolitano after the 1923–1966 arena which hosted Atlético's matches before Vicente Calderón. In March 2017, the club officially bought the stadium from the City Council of Madrid for €30.4 million. As of 15 April 2017, around 48,500 season tickets had been reserved by the club fans. On 16 September 2017, the Estadio Metropolitano's inaugural event was a 2017–18 La Liga match between Atlético Madrid and Málaga. King Felipe VI of Spain attended the match. Atlético's Antoine Griezmann scored the first goal at the new stadium, as Atlético won 1–0. On 27 September 2017, the Metropolitano hosted its first European game as Chelsea beat Atlético Madrid 2–1 and became the first English club to defeat them at home in any European club competition, as well as the first visiting team to win at the new stadium. The stadium was also the first 100% LED stadium in the world. ==Notable events==

La Peineta hosted the second leg of the 1996 Supercopa de España on 28 August, with Atlético beating Barcelona 3–1 on the night, but losing 6–5 on aggregate. During the 1997–98 Segunda División season, Madrid-based club Rayo Vallecano played some home matches at La Peineta, due to renovation works on its stadium, the Campo de Fútbol de Vallecas. On 21–22 September 2002, La Peineta hosted the 9th IAAF World Cup, an international track and field sporting event sponsored by the International Association of Athletics Federations. On 20 September 2017, shortly after the inauguration of the stadium, it was selected by UEFA to host the final match of the 2018–19 UEFA Champions League. This was the fifth European Cup/UEFA Champions League final held in Madrid, after the 1957, 1969, 1980, and 2010 finals, all held at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium of Atlético's cross-town rival Real Madrid. On 27 March 2018, the stadium hosted the Spain national football team for the first time for a friendly against Argentina, which ended in a 6–1 win for Spain. On 21 April 2018, it hosted the 2018 Copa del Rey Final between Sevilla and Barcelona. Barcelona won the game with a final score of 5–0. During the game Andrés Iniesta was substituted with a standing ovation by the fans since it was his last final with Barcelona. On 17 March 2019, Metropolitano hosted the Spanish women's league match between Atlético Madrid and Barcelona, with 60,739 spectators attending the match, thus beating the worldwide record for a women's football match between clubs. On 1 June 2019, the stadium hosted the 2019 UEFA Champions League Final between Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool, in which Liverpool defeated Spurs 2–0. On 11 September 2025, UEFA selected the stadium for the second time to host the 2027 UEFA Champions League final. == Other events ==

at Metropolitano Stadium in 2022. The stadium hosted several rugby union matches with the first match of Spain against Classic All Blacks in 2022, with over 40,000 attending the match. In 2023, the stadium hosted Spain match against Argentina In July 2023, the stadium hosted the third edition of La Velada del Año, an annual celebrity boxing event. With over 70,000 tickets sold, it became the highest attendance for a boxing event in Spain since 1930. On 2024, the stadium hosted the final of the World Rugby Sevens Series Concerts == Transport and access ==

The Madrid City Council, the Spanish Ministry of Public Works and Transport and Atletico Madrid signed an agreement to improve access to the stadium. The first phase of the work was planned to be completed before the stadium opened, and included the new entrance from the M-40 towards Avenida Luis Aragonés, the braiding link between the Eisenhower interchange (M-14 and M-21) and the stadium service road, the improvement of the entrance by Arcentales Avenue, the construction of a second vestibule, and finally access to the Estadio Metropolitano Metro station. These infrastructures will be paid by the club for a fee close to 30 million euros. There are three more Metro stations within a two to 20 minute walk of the stadium: Las Rosas (line 2), Canillejas (line 5), and Las Musas (line 7). The buses of EMT Madrid with a stop close to the stadium are lines 28, 38, 48, 140, 153, E2, N5 and N6 (the last two lines are nocturnal buses). The long-distance buses are lines 286, 288 and 289. The EMT operates a special service on match days; one line runs from the Canillejas exchanger to the stadium (SE721 line). Canillejas has connections to Metro line 5 and EMT bus lines 77, 101, 140, 151 and 200. == Construction gallery ==

File:Estadio olimpico de Madrid.JPG|External view of La Peineta before reconstruction in March 2012 File:Frente del Estadio Olimpico de Madrid.JPG|The comb-shaped stand, origin of the nickname of La Peineta, in March 2012 File:La Peineta, detalle de la colocación de la cubierta 3.JPG|Pressure ring of the roof in August 2016 File:Estadio Metropolitano (2017-07)2.JPG|View of the stadium during reconstruction in June 2017 File:Visita a las obras del Wanda Metropolitano, futuro estadio del Atlético - 36358485180.jpg|Inner view of the stadium in August 2017 == See also ==