Football Ground Map
Football Ground Map
One of the newest stadiums in Europe, Wanda Metropolitana in Madrid, will host the 2019 Champion's League Final on 1 June. New home of Atletico de Madrid opening in September 2017, the 68,000-seat stadium will host its first major final after UEFA introduced a bidding system this year for the first time. However, owing to regulations around using naming rights of non-tournament sponsors (Wanda Group is a sport investment firm that has a stake in Atletico de Madrid), UEFA will refer to the stadium as the Estadio Metropolitano for the duration of the Champions' League.
The first Champions' League group stage games will be played on 18-19 September 2018, with the final round on 11-12 December 2018. Therefore, with the tournament about to start for real and bookies ramping up their online betting offers, now is the perfect time to look ahead at the stadium that the 32 teams left in the Champions' League will be looking to reach in June of next year.
Wanda Metropolitana was built on the site of the former Estadio Olimpico de Madrid, and the first game played there was a 1-0 win for Atleti over Malaga in La Liga on 16 September 2017, with a goal by Antoine Griezmann being the difference. The new arena replaces the Vicente Calderon Stadium, which was Atletico de Madrid's home from 1966 until the end of the 2017-18 season and which is now set to be demolished.
The stadium, located in the north-west of Madrid, features state-of-the-art facilities for spectators, including three enormous video scoreboards, a unique 360° ribbon board, and is the first stadium in the world with 100% LED lighting. Wi-fi is available throughout the ground, as is 4G mobile coverage.
The stand out design feature of the stadium is the iconic, wave-like roof that circumnavigates the ground and which can be illuminated to put on brilliant light displays. 98% of seats are under cover, and there is a clear and uninterrupted view of the pitch no matter where in the stadium spectators are sitting. In terms of viewer comfort, there is greater legroom than many other comparable venues, as well as straightforward access for disabled and reduced mobility spectators. Wanda Metropolitana has also been designed to be a sustainable stadium, with LED lighting, energy efficient air conditioning, and solar energy to heat water, while recycled rainwater is used to water the pitch and in stadium cleaning.
There are fan zones located in the Fondo Sur and Fondo Norte. In the Fondo Sur, there are concession stands and a stage for performances, while the Fondo Norte is a family friendly zone and has non-smoking areas. There are also 19,000 non-smoking seats in the stadium, unique in Spain. The Atletico de Madrid Walk of Legends, dedicated to players with more than 100 appearances for the club, is on the west of the ground, while an enormous red and white flag, the largest in Spain, is in the southwest corner of the stadium as a tribute to the dedication and loyalty of Atleti fans throughout the club's long history.
Wanda Metropolitana has very good public transport links, with a metro station adjacent to the stadium (Metropolitan Stadium, Line 7), as well as three other metro stations within walking distance (Las Rosas on Line 2, Canillejas on Line 5 and Las Musas on Line 7). For fans coming in from the rest of Europe, Madrid Barajas Adolfo Suarez Airport is a short journey away. There are 1,000 parking spaces available inside the stadium as well as a further 3,000 spaces in the adjacent car park.
This season's Champions' League showpiece will be the first time the final has been held in Spain since 2010, when the match was played at the Santiago Bernabeu. Madrid will become the second city after London to host five European finals, and the fourth to have held the final in more than one venue.
For anyone visiting Madrid who would like to take a closer look at Wanda Metropolitana, guided tours are available Monday to Thursday at 12pm, 1pm, 4,30pm and 5.30, and at 12pm and 1pm on Friday. Special arrangements are in place on match days. To book, telephone the stadium on + 34 91 365 09 31 or +34 902 26 04 03.
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