Bernabéu, ( ) formerly known as Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, is a retractable roof football stadium in the district of Chamartín, Madrid, Spain. With a seating capacity of 83,186 following its extensive renovation completed in late 2024, the stadium has the second-largest seating capacity for a football stadium in Spain, behind Camp Nou in Barcelona. It has been the home stadium of Real Madrid since its completion in 1947.
Named after former Real Madrid player and president Santiago Bernabéu (1895–1978), the stadium is one of the world's most famous football venues. It has hosted the final of the European Cup/UEFA Champions League on four occasions: in 1957, 1969, 1980 and 2010. The stadium also hosted the second leg of the 2018 Copa Libertadores Finals, making Santiago Bernabéu the only stadium to host finals of both competitions. The final matches for the 1964 European Nations' Cup and the 1982 FIFA World Cup were also held at the Bernabéu, making it the first stadium in Europe to host both a UEFA Euro final and a FIFA World Cup final.
History Origins and construction In the early 1940s, the old Campo de Chamartín had become too small for the growing population of Madrid and the increasing popularity of football. Despite successive renovations that had expanded its capacity to 25,000 seats, the stadium was still insufficient for the club's needs. Faced with this situation, in the spring of 1943, President Antonio Santos Peralba expressed the need to build a new stadium with an initial capacity of 40,000 spectators, although the club's financial difficulties raised uncertainties about its realization.
With the arrival of Santiago Bernabéu to the presidency in September 1943, the plan for the new stadium gained decisive and much more ambitious momentum. In his first meeting with the board of directors, Bernabéu declared: "Gentlemen, we need a bigger field and we are going to build it". Bernabéu's vision was to build an even larger stadium than the one proposed by Peralba, with a capacity close to 75,000 spectators. Bernabéu firmly believed that a larger stadium would allow the club to raise more money, which in turn would enable the club to grow, sign better players, and attract more fans, creating a virtuous cycle that would benefit the team in the long run. On 1 November 1943, the board of directors visited the land adjacent to the Campo de Chamartín, located in the extension of the Paseo de la Castellana, to analyze its possible expansion. These lands belonged to the "Villa Ulpiana" estate and another known as "Entrecanales", owned by the Maqueda and Chávarri families. Shortly thereafter, negotiations began to acquire them for a total cost of 3,000,000 pesetas.
On 22 June 1944, the land acquisitions were formalized before a notary: 256,667 square feet for 2,000,000 pesetas from the Ruiz del Villar family and 93,877 square feet for 1,001,069 pesetas from the Maqueda and Chávarri families. Additionally, the necessary expropriations for the urbanization of the area, including the future streets Concha Espina and Plaza de los Sagrados Corazones, cost 1,000,000 pesetas.
To choose the design for the new stadium, a Competition of Ideas and Sketches was organized, in which renowned architects participated. The architects Pedro Muguruza and Javier Barroso, former goalkeepers of Athletic de Madrid and friends of Bernabéu, were part of the jury along with board members Fernando de Cárcer Disdier, first vice president, and Pedro Méndez Cuesta, board member responsible for the field and an architect by profession. In September 1944, after evaluating the seven submitted projects, the jury awarded the first prize to the design of Manuel Muñoz Monasterio and Luis Alemany Soler. The award-winning works were exhibited at the Círculo de Bellas Artes, where they sparked great interest and debate among fans.
On 27 October 1944, the land was blessed, and construction was symbolically initiated with a groundbreaking strike by Santiago Bernabéu.
The financing of the construction presented significant challenges due to the distrust of members and banking entities. Despite the skepticism of many people, including some members and supporters, regarding the project's feasibility, Bernabéu remained steadfast in his purpose. In a context where banks did not consider football a safe investment and where official support from sports organizations was not obtainable, Bernabéu delegated to treasurer Luis Corrales Ferras the task of designing an innovative financing plan. This plan involved the issuance of bonds with mortgage guarantees on the club's properties.
The next step was crucial: Bernabéu presented this plan to Rafael Salgado, president of Banco Mercantil e Industrial and a Real Madrid supporter. Thanks to Bernabéu's passionate and detailed explanation, Salgado agreed to finance the project, convinced of the viability and potential of the new stadium. This decision was crucial for the project's realization, and in recognition of his support, one of the streets adjacent to the stadium bears his name.
The financing plan was structured into three staggered bond issues:
First issue of 20,000 bonds for a total of 10,000,000 pesetas on 9 November 1944. Second issue of 30,000 bonds for 15,000,000 pesetas on 18 March 1946. Third issue of 10,000 bonds totaling 5,000,000 pesetas on 8 October 1947.
All the issues were covered on the day they were released to the Stock Market, thanks to the enthusiasm and confidence of the members, even the most modest ones. The plan was a complete success and allowed for staggered financing adjusted to the construction needs.
The construction was awarded to the company Huarte y Compañía, S.A., beginning in June 1945 under the direction of architects Alemany and Muñoz Monasterio and with the collaboration of civil engineer Carlos Fernández Casado. Over 30 months, the works faced numerous obstacles, from the shortage of basic materials in post-war Spain to technical difficulties due to a nearby railway link popularly known as the "tunnel of laughter". However, the project progressed with enthusiasm and dedication.
The construction of the new field took place on the grounds of the old field and on the lands of Villa Ulpiana, which could have disrupted the club's life. However, this only happened from 1946 when Real Madrid was forced to play home games at the Stadium Metropolitano during the 1946–47 season and in five matches of the 1947–48 season. Despite these inconveniences, Real Madrid maintained its sports activities while the new stadium took shape over part of the old site and on the adjacent lands.
This is how Fernando de Cárcer Disdier, the club's first vice president, summarized the development of the construction in 1947:
The total cost of the works, in round numbers, was broken down into the following items:
Land. Acquisitions, capital gains, real rights, stamps, writing expenses, cancellation of commitments, and lifting of the mortgage on the old Chamartín: 4,500,000 pesetas. Loans. Costs of the same: 2,000,000 pesetas. Works. Material execution of the stadium: 28,000,000 pesetas. Execution of the office: 1,500,000 pesetas. Fees. Architects, quantity surveyors, and awards from the Ideas and Sketches Competition: 1,300,000 pesetas. Compensation for Expropriations of land carried out by the City Council: 1,000,000 pesetas. Total disbursed: 38,300,000 pesetas (230,183 euros).
Opening The stadium was inaugurated on 14 December 1947 with a match between Real Madrid and the Portuguese side Os Belenenses.. Real Madrid.com. Retrieved 22 November 2011 After the preliminaries, at 15:30, referee Pedro Escartín from the Madrid school started the match. Real Madrid striker Sabino Barinaga scored the first goal in the 15th minute with a header. At the end of the match, Barinaga received a recognition pennant. Afterward, players and managers of both teams celebrated with a dinner. The first official match took place on 28 December 1947 on matchday 12 of La Liga against Athletic Club, which had been postponed due to the inauguration of the stadium. The match was refereed by José Fombona Fernández from the Asturian school and ended with a 5–1 victory for Los Blancos. The first goal was scored in the 4th minute by Madrid midfielder Chus Alonso after receiving a pass from Barinaga.
The stadium's official name at the time was , although it continued to be known among fans as () or simply . The stadium had an initial capacity of 75,145 spectators, 27,645 of which had seats (7,125 covered) and 47,500 for standing fans.
1950s
The first major renovation occurred in 1955. On 19 June of that year, the stadium expanded to accommodate 125,000 spectators. Thus, the Madrid coliseum became the biggest stadium of all the participants of the newly established European Cup.
On 4 January 1955, after the General Assembly of Members Compromisaros, it was decided that the stadium adopt its present name in honour of club president Santiago Bernabéu.
In March 1957, floodlights were installed to allow nighttime games. On 18 May of the same year, the new floodlights were officially inaugurated in a game against Brazilian club Sport Recife, which Real Madrid won 5–3.
1960s and 1970s In 1965, the transfer of all the club's offices to the stadium was completed, which previously had been moved between multiple venues in the capital.
On 14 December 1972, coinciding with the 25th anniversary of the Santiago Bernabéu's inauguration, the first electronic scoreboard was installed inside the stadium and later utilized for the first time in a friendly match against the same rival that Madrid faced in 1947, the Portuguese Belenenses. The match ended with a 2–1 Real victory. Days before the scoreboard had already been used for the farewell ceremony of the Madrid legend Paco Gento.
1980s The next big changes did not occur until the hosting of the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain. The stadium had to adapt to the changing times and with this, architects Rafael Luis Alemany and Manuel Salinas were hired for the stadium's renovation project. The brothers were sons of Luis Alemany Soler, who carried out the original construction project next to Muñoz Monasterio. The work lasted 16 months and had a cost of 704 million pesetas (US $4.7 million), of which 530 million was paid by the City of Madrid.
The improvements included a number of points. First, FIFA forced two-thirds of the seating area to be covered. For this reason, Real Madrid installed a roof covering the perimeter of the first and second tiers of seating, except the east side. The stadium's capacity was reduced from 120,000 to 90,000 spectators, starting downsizing in 1978. 24,550 of which were covered by the new roof. The project also involved remodeling the façade, the installation of new electronic signs in the north and south ends, as well as the renovation of the press areas, lockers rooms, access, and ancillary areas.
The stadium hosted four matches in the World Cup: three second-round Group Two matches (West Germany vs. England, West Germany vs. Spain, and Spain vs. England) and the prestigious final match (Italy vs. West Germany). The final between Italy and Germany was played in front of a sold out stadium of 90,000 people.
1990s Following a series of spectator fatalities in the 1980s (most notably the Heysel Stadium in Belgium and the Hillsborough Stadium in England), English authorities released the Taylor Report on how to improve football spectator safety in English venues. UEFA followed suit across Europe. The stadium was forced to create separate shortcuts to different stadium sections and seats for all spectators.