San Mamés: Athletic Bilbao
By Euskaldunaa (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
When talking of the home ground of Athletic Bilbao it’s important not to get confused between the San Mamés Stadium and the San Mamés Stadium. The former is the current ground which opened in 2013 and was a direct replacement for the older stadium of the same name. It cost around €211 million to build, with more than half of that being paid for by the public. It was built on ground that was located right next door to the original stadium and had been occupied by the Bilbao International Trade Fair until 2003.
Interestingly the stadium was opened in phases. The first phase saw three-quarters of it opened in order to allow Bilbao to play football games there whilst the old ground was knocked down. The destruction of the old stadium created room for the remainder of the new one. The new San Mamés won the Sports Building of the Year award at the World Architecture Festival in Singapore in November of 2015. No surprise, then, that it was chosen as one of the venues to host the 2020 European Championship when the tournament took place.
Stats
| San Mamés Stats | |
|---|---|
| Year Opened | 2013 |
| Capacity | 53331 |
| Average Attendance | 46217 |
| Record Attendance | 52061 (Athletic Bilbao vs Atlético Madrid (29 Feb 2024)) |
| Pitch Size | 105 x 68 (7140) |
| Nickname | San Mamés |
| Owner | San Mamés Barria, S.L. |
| Clubs Hosted | Athletic Bilbao, Athletic Bilbao B |
| Final Fixture | Athletic Bilbao v Celta Vigo (16/09/2013) |
| Athletico Bilbao Stats | |
|---|---|
| Year Founded | 1898 |
| Nickname | Los Leones / Lehoiak (The Lions) Rojiblancos / Zuri-gorriak (Red-Whites) |
| Club Mascot | Harrotxu |
| Rivals | Real Sociedad, Real Madrid |
| Previous Stadiums | San Mamés |
| Kit | Red, White & Black (Home) / Green (Away) |
| Training Ground | Lezama Facilities |
| Shirt Sponsor | Kutxabank |
| Team Owner | Membership |
| Record Goalscorer | Telmo Zarra (367) |
| Record Appearances | José Ángel Iribar (614) |
San Mamés Photos
By Viejo sabio (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0]
By Euskaldunaa (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0]
By josu.orbe (Barrera!) [CC BY-SA 2.0]
By Euskaldunaa (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0]
San Mamés Seating Plan and Where to Sit
As is the case with most modern European stadia, the San Mamés has a bowl of continuous seating that runs around the perimeter of the pitch. This is a marked change from what you might be used to in England, where each stand is usually its own structure and there is one for each side of the pitch. Here’s a guide to each section:
- Tribuna Principal – As the name suggests, this is considered to be the main stand in the stadium. It contains the dugouts, the players’ tunnel the dressing rooms and more.
- Tribuna Norte – Like the rest of the ground, it has a two tiered structure with each tier separated by a section of executive seating. Located behind the Northern goal, this stand is where the most ardent Bilbao fans congregate.
- Tribuna Este – Located directly opposite the Tribuna Principal and with a similar design, the left hand edge of the upper tier was part of the ground that was not finished until the old stadium was demolished.
- Tribuna Sur – The South Stand is almost identical to the its Northern counterpart. Much like the Tribuna Este, the righthand side of the upper level wasn’t built when the ground opened for the first time in 2013.
Athletico Bilbao Ticket Prices
Athletico Bilbao is a club that follows the same sort of model as Barcelona and is owned in part by the supporters. These ‘members’ get tickets at a special price, with the general public asked to pay more. How much you’ll have to pay will depend entirely on your age and where in the stadium you’d like to sit.
Seats can cost anything from €30 to €170, with the opposition also being a deciding factor. A game against Real Madrid will be more expansive than one against RC Celta, for example. You’ll be able to get a discount if you’re a concession, but how much of a discount isn’t clear.
How To Get Athletico Bilbao Tickets
Without question the best place to get tickets is via the club’s official website. Rather problematically, however, they don’t go on sale until two days before the game. If you’re in the city and don’t have internet access then you can get tickets from the stadium itself or via the ATMs of any kutxabanks that you find around the place.
Where to Buy
Getting To San Mamés
Bilbao is in the Basque region of Spain, in the Northern part of the country. Here are some of the usual methods you might chose to use to get there and then to the stadium itself:
Train – Getting a train from London to Bilbao will take about thirteen hours. You’ll go from the English capital to the French one before transferring onto an internal train to Bayona. You’ll then get a bus that will take you across the border to Bilbao.
When it comes to making your way to the stadium you’ll want to either get a mainline train to Estación de Abando Indalecio Prieto or else get a Metro to San Mamés Station, which is right by the ground.
Bus – There are over forty bus routes in operation in the city of Bilbao. The BAI, DG01, DG02, DO01 and DO03 services all call close to the San Mamés Stadium with others likely available if you’re willing to speak to locals.
Car – Travel on the A8 motorway until you see Exit 117. It will be obvious where you’re going from there, but keep your eyes peeled either for the stadium itself or signs to it.
By Air – Bilbao Airport is just shy of ten miles from the city centre. You can get the bus from there to the centre of town easily enough.
Taxi – A taxi from Bilbao centre to the ground will only take about five minutes and shouldn’t cost you more than €8-€10.
Parking Near San Mamés
There’s no car parking for the general public, with the car park at the ground taken up by VIPs and club guests. Given the stadium is so close to the centre of Bilbao your best bet is to park there and walk in.
Useful Resources
San Mamés Hotels
Bilbao is a lovely city is the heart of the Basque region of Spain. Consequently there are plenty of hotels to choose from when you visit for the football. Here’s some of our top choices:
Zenit Bilbao - £55+
Barceló Bilbao Nervión - £70+
Hotel Miro - £90+
Pubs and Bars Near San Mamés
Spain is always good for a drink, with sangria flowing and paella ready to be eaten at any given moment. Here are some of our favourite places for a pre-match pint:
Building Kirol & Bar
El Dinamico
Peña Athletic Casco Viejo
Facilities
The stadium is classed as ‘Elite’ by UEFA, so that should give you some idea of what to expect from your visit there. The views are great from all over the stadium, there are brilliant concourses that are wide and safe and there are also numerous locations where you can buy a drink or a bite to eat.
Hospitality
There is a whole row of VIP seating that runs around the perimeter of the pitch and separates the two tiers of the stadium. On top of that there are numerous lounges and rooms that welcome those supporters who enjoy a hospitality experience. For more information on exactly what you can expect from your visit your best bet is to contact the club directly.
Private Hire
Much like with the hospitality packages, if you’d like to know what conferences and meetings you can host at the San Mamés then drop the club a line. What we can tell you is that there are a number of conference rooms and boxes that can host anything from a small-scale meeting through to a full on presentation.
Stadium Tours & Museum
Tours at the stadium are excellent and tech heavy, available as either an audio recording or with a real human being taking you around the place. You can book a guided tour with museum entry for €22 as an adult or €8 for kids, or make do with an audio tour and museum for €15 and €5. Tours run throughout the day.
About Athletico Bilbao
Los Leones, or The Lions, are one of the most interesting teams in the world. Not simply because of what they’ve achieved but because of how they’ve achieved it. since its foundation there has been an unwritten rule that the club would follow a cantera policy, which insisted on only players either born or trained in the Basque region featuring in the team. That means that they have limited themselves somewhat considerably when it comes to the players that they can field in matches, yet it has never held them back and they are one of only three sides who founded the Primera División in Spain and have never been relegated from it.
Athletic Bilbao have won La Liga eight times, making them the fourth most successful team in Spain when it comes to titles won. They’ve picked up 24 Copa Del Reys, second only to Barcelona on that front. Interestingly the Royal Spanish Football Federation only recognises 23 Copa Del Rey wins. As well as having a men’s team that can boast being one of the best in the history of Spain, Bilbao also have a brilliant women’s that is, in fact, the most successful in the country. They’ve achieved that claim by picking up five Primera División Femenina championship wins.
San Mamés History
Plans for a new stadium that Athletic Bilbao could call home were drawn up as early as 2004. Approval to build it came through in 2006, but building work didn’t begin until 2010. The club actually held a ground-breaking ceremony that was attended by people such as Patxi López, the Lehendakari of the Basque Country; José Luis Bilbao who was the Deputy-General of Biscay; Iñaki Azkuna, the Mayor of the city of Bilbao and Ángel María Villar, the Real Federación Española de Fútbol’s President.
The football ground that the stadium was built to replace had been open for 100 years when the replacement San Mamés opened its doors for the first time to host a match between Athletic Bilbao and Celta Vigo. Michel Platini, the former President of UEFA, described the San Mamés as ‘a wonderful stadium’, with the decision to design a football ground that would fit into the stylistic choices of the city of Bilbao seen as a real positive. The design also took into account the acoustics within the stadium, configuring the stands to ensure that the noise levels are optimum.
Future Developments
Given that the stadium hasn’t been open for all that long, it’s unlikely that there will be many changes to it in the near future. There are certain aspects of the ground, such as the retractable roof, that were only completed around 2016/17.