Athletic Club are one of the best-supported teams in LaLiga, and trips to Bilbao offer a unique experience for even the most well-travelled football aficionados. Our San Mames stadium guide will give you the lowdown on one of Spanish football’s most atmospheric grounds.
If you know anything about Spanish football history, you’ll know that its roots can largely be traced to the Basque Country, with Athletic Club the dominant force during its early years.
The team played at the old San Mames, affectionately known as “La Catedral”, for 100 years between 1913 and 2013. While it underwent extensive renovation work in the 1950s and again in the early 1980s ahead of the 1982 World Cup, the old stadium was a mythical place that was revered by Athletic supporters and a huge part of Spanish football heritage.
Work on the new San Mames, built immediately adjacent to the old ground, began in 2010, and for a number of seasons its construction could be seen rising beyond the historic old stadium where Athletic continued to play their home games until the end of the 2012/13 campaign.
Los Leones played their first match in the new stadium in September 2013, a 3-2 victory over Celta Vigo, although it wasn’t until August 2014 that the new San Mames was completed and operational at full capacity.
The San Mames capacity today is over 50,000, and with Athletic doing well on the pitch and on course for Champions League football in the 2025/26 season, big matches frequently sell out.
The stadium features a stunning modern exterior and is located slightly closer to the banks of the city’s River Nervion than its predecessor, making it a striking addition to the Bilbao skyline which also features the iconic Guggenheim Museumthe city’s most popular tourist attraction.
The San Mames stadium has a riverside location in the heart of Bilbao, making it accessible by foot from most central hotels, hostels and guesthouses, while the city’s main train station (Bilbao-Abando) is around a 30-minute walk away with rail links to cities across Spain.
Bilbao’s old town (Casco Viejo) is around 35 minutes walk from the stadium, but if you don’t fancy getting there by foot, San Mames metro station is located just a stone’s throw from the stadium with connections to stops across the city, as well as the wider Bilbao metropolitan area.
The city’s main bus station (Bilbao Intermodal) is located only 300 metres from the stadium, with regular connections to Madrid and many other Spanish cities.
Tickets for home matches can be bought online via the ticketing page on the club’s website. In theory, Athletic Club ticket prices start at around €30 for less glamorous league fixtures, however current demand is high, and you may end up needing to pay significantly more than that to secure a seat.
According to the club, “online ticket sales usually start on the Monday morning three weeks before each match at 10:30 CET”. Meanwhile, ticket offices do open on matchday itself, as well as the day before, although bigger games may already be sold out by that point.
You may still have some luck getting VIP tickets in such cases, although be prepared to pay several hundred Euros for those.
The roof of San Mames was extended in 2016, offering shelter from the frequent rain that pours down in the Basque Country. That helps to contain the noise, with Athletic home games usually loud and passionate affairs.
The stadium fully encircles the pitch, with safe standing rail seats installed in the lower tier of the North Stand which is officially designated as the “singing section” and typically houses lots of young Athletic fans who lead the singing on matchdays.
There is little else to distinguish the four stands from each other, with the two-tiered design simple but effective. The San Mames away section is located in the southeast corner of the stadium, in the second tier, with away teams in European competitions typically getting around 2,500 tickets.
The stadium will also host the 2025 Europa League final, with the two finalists set to get up to 15,000 tickets each according to UEFA.
If you’re lucky enough to secure San Mames tickets, you can sample the pre-match atmosphere on the spacious concourse around the ground where fans tend to congregate.
Athletic supporters also frequently line the lively Calle Poza in the build-up and aftermath of matches. It’s the perfect place to mix with locals for some pre or post-game beers and pintxos, and the street conveniently leads directly to San Mames from the heart of Bilbao, with the stadium coming into view as you move further down it.
Bilbao is a football-mad city, and even as you head further away from the stadium, you’ll encounter streets, apartment buildings, bars and restaurants full of Athletic scarves, flags and memorabilia.
A trip to the Athletic Club museum is a worthwhile addition to any football trip to Bilbao, given the vast history of a club that remains “unique in the world” due to its policy of only signing players from the Basque Country.
A self-guided museum and San Mames tour costs a reasonable €15, but you’ll need a mobile phone and your own headphones to get audio commentary. You can also follow a guided tour for €22, with visits expected to last around 90 minutes in both cases. Head to gates 19 and 20 at San Mames to start.
If you’ve caught a match and completed an Athletic Club stadium tour, Bilbao is still a great city to visit, with plenty to see and do. A trip up the mountain on the Funicular de Artxanda cable car is highly recommended and will offer stunning views of the city, while the Casco Viejo is Bilbao’s historic centre.
Bigger groups looking for an extra dose of football, may also want to try their hands at Bubble Football which is a fun experience and can be played at several locations in the Bizkaia province.
There is also a thriving lower league scene in the Bilbao area and across the Basque Country, and you may want to catch an extra game while visiting the city.
In the Segunda Division, Eibar are located less than 50 km from Bilbao, halfway to San Sebastian which is home to Athletic’s main rivals Real Sociedad, while you can also catch top-flight action in the wider region in Vitoria (Alaves) or Pamplona (Osasuna).
In the Spanish third tier, there are currently four teams from Bizkaia, including Athletic’s B team who play at the club’s famous Lezama training base, the breeding ground for many of the club’s current and former stars. Barakaldo and Sestao River are also located along the Estuary of Bilbao and easily reached via the city’s public transport, while Amorebieta are located only around 20 km away.
You can also find fourth-tier football by taking in a home game of 1919 Copa del Rey winners Arenas Club de Getxo, accessible by a 20-minute metro ride from the centre of Bilbao.
