The Evolution of Santiago Bernabeu

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The Evolution of Santiago Bernabeu - Real Madrid Stadium

From the Estrada Lot to O'Donnel field

FROM THE OLD BULLRING TO THE MAGNIFICENT GROUND AT O’DONNELL.
The newly created Madrid Foot Ball Club (1902) set up home on a large area of land near the old bullring. It was leased from Queen Cristina, its owner, for an annual fee of 150 pesetas. Fans would crowd together around the pitch to see the first official games. An adjacent building, La Taurina tavern, was used both as the dressing rooms as well as for storage. Owned by the Padrós brothers, it was used by the players to change and to store the goalposts.

Estadio de Chamartín

UNSTOPPABLE GROWTH: THE VELODROME, PRELUDE TO THE OLD CHAMARTÍN STADIUM.
The sale of the land at O’Donnell in order to build housing resulted in Real Madrid having to find a new stadium. The Velodrome at Ciudad Lineal was suitable for what was needed at the time (1923). Arturo Soria, its designer, adapted it for football. It was the first ground with grass, and had capacity for 8,000 fans. Its spaciousness and comfort were not sufficient advantages though, given the difficulty in getting to the ground. A year later the club would build a stadium at Chamartín, abandoning Ciudad Lineal.

The Birth of Santiago Bernabéu

REAL MADRID BEGINS A PHARAONIC PROJECT.
The Civil War broke out on 18 July 1936, and its effects on the Old Chamartín were significant, leaving it in a dreadful state. To repair the extensive damage it was necessary to invest an important sum of money. In October 1939 it was reopened for the first post-war derby, in which the Whites beat Atlético Madrid 2-1. The fans’ enthusiasm did not wane with the military conflict and the ground was at full capacity. After successive refurbishments, the stadium’s capacity was increased to 25,000 fans, but this was not sufficient to attend to the large demand.

New Bernabéu Stadium

RECOGNITION OF THE WORK OF SANTIAGO BERNABÉU.
Santiago Bernabéu did not rest on his laurels after the inauguration of the Nuevo Chamartín Stadium. New ideas continued to sprout out, on ways to improve it and adapt it to the club’s growing fan base. In this second construction phase, which began in 1952, the main goal was to increase capacity to 125,000 fans, and equip the installations with the most modern amenities possible.

This new capacity was inaugurated in June of 1954. In 1955 the members with a right to vote unanimously decided to name the ground Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. Over the years further work was undertaken to improve the installations. In 1957 it became the world’s best-lit stadium. In 1965 all of the club’s administration and management staff completed their move to the stadium, finally under the same roof, given that since the club’s creation they had been scattered around the city in many different premises.

World Cup 1982

WORLD FOOTBALL HAS A DATE WITH THE HOME OF MADRID’S FANS.
Spain’s organisation of the 1982 World Cup forced the club to carry out a general refurbishment of the Bernabéu, the stadium having been designated to host one of the qualification stages, as well as the final. It was important to transmit a modern image to the millions of fans that would be watching, either directly or via television. Accordingly, almost the entire complex was refurbished.

The Bernabéu, Elite Stadium

A ‘LEADING PROJECT’ FOR A FIVE-STAR STADIUM.
During the 1999-2000 season the club implemented a modernisation process called “21st Century Leading Project”. Numerous services were made available to members and fans: the Real Madrid Line (a telephone line for members and fans), ticket sales via the telephone (the first time in history), and a transferable and financed season-ticket.

The capacity of the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium was distributed by sectors, and the stadium’s signs were redone. The third amphitheatre facing Padre Damián street was remodelled, placing 9,380 seats. This was in addition to the 16,000 seats installed the previous season in different sections of the stadium. Capacity was reduced to 75,000 fans. Madrid’s great theatre was now an all-seat stadium.

Upon being elected president of Real Madrid, Florentino Pérez implemented the ‘Stadium’s Infrastructure Master Plan’. It contemplated technically updating the installations and infrastructure, their commercial exploitation, and the setting up of new business activities. This has meant that it has become a ‘365-days a year stadium’. It has four restaurants, the ‘Tour of the Bernabéu’, and the world’s largest sports store.

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