As Champions League regulars, and one of Spanish football’s “big three”, Atletico Madrid are now firmly established as a major European club. Our Estadio Metropolitano stadium guide delves into everything you need to know about their modern home on the outskirts of the Spanish capital.
Atleti played at various locations in Madrid during their early years, before moving into the original Metropolitano Stadium in 1923. This was located in the north of the city, only a couple of kilometres from the present-day Santiago Bernabeu, home of their arch-rivals Real Madrid.
They stayed there until 1966, when Atletico Madrid moved to a new all-seater stadium on the banks of the Rio Manzanares, a short distance from the very heart of Madrid. Initially the Manzanares Stadium, it was renamed the Vicente Calderon after the club’s president at the time in 1971.
The atmospheric Calderon was the setting for many of Atleti’s greatest nights, from the double-winning 1995/96 campaign to the 2013/14 title win and two runs to the Champions League final under Diego Simeone. After just over 50 years, Atleti bid farewell to the Calderon in 2017, with club icon Fernando Torres scoring a brace in the stadium’s final LaLiga game.
Motivated by the opportunity to generate greater revenues, Atleti had secured possession of a stadium in the San Blas-Canillejas district in 2013. Previously intended to be the centrepiece of the city’s Olympics bid, the stadium was totally rebuilt and opened its door as Atleti’s new home in time for the 2017/18 season with a capacity of 68,456.
There have been slight expansions to the stadium even since 2017, with two new skyboxes added and expanded VIP and disability offerings taking the capacity above 70,000. If anything, the Estadio Metropolitano feels bigger than that when you’re inside it, with a spacious feel.
It is made up of three main tiers, in addition to the VIP/hospitality section between the second and third levels. The western stand, the one that is immediately visible when you exit the nearby metro station, features a slightly different design to the others because it incorporates part of the old stadium on the site which was initially built as part of Madrid’s unsuccessful bid to host the 1997 World Athletics Championships.
Unlike the old Atletico Madrid stadium, the current one has also been sponsored from the outset. Initially known as the Wanda Metropolitano, it became the Civitas Metropolitano in 2022 and the Riyadh Air Metropolitano in 2024.
While the current stadium’s name is an ode to the original Atletico Madrid ground, it is not located at the same site. Instead, you have to travel far from the centre of the Spanish capital to reach the current venue on the eastern fringes of the city, not too far from Madrid-Barajas airport.
Indeed, the Estadio Metropolitano is usually visible when landing or taking off at Barajas, although it’s not particularly well linked to the airport via public transport.
From the centre of Madrid, it can take around 45 minutes to reach the Metropolitano on matchday, depending on your exact starting point. Most fans take the metro to the ground, with Estadio Metropolitano metro station located only a few hundred metres from the stadium.
This is served by line seven (the orange one). You may need to first take an alternative line and change to line seven at another station, most likely Pueblo Nuevo or Avenida de America. The Metropolitano lies just within Zone A on the Madrid metro network, so you can just buy a regular single ticket, or use a T-10 transport pass to reach it.
A taxi to the stadium from the centre of Madrid may cost in the region of 20 to 30 Euros.
It’s not normally that difficult to get Estadio Metropolitano tickets via the club’s official website. Tickets for less glamorous league fixtures typically start at around 30 Euros, and are considerably more affordable than the prices you’ll find across town at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Given the large capacity of the stadium, availability is normally good in comparison to that of other clubs in Spain and around Europe. You may need to fork out more than 50 Euros for a ticket for a bigger LaLiga or Champions League fixture however, and some of those games do sell out quickly, potentially even before they reach general sale.
You may still have some luck securing Atletico Madrid VIP seats in such cases, although clearly those will cost a lot more. Alternatively, you can secure your seat in advance by using sportsbreaks.com who offer official LaLiga ticket and hotel packages.
You may also find resale tickets for football matches and concerts at the Estadio Metropolitano on platforms such as Helloticketsalthough anything purchased through third-party platforms is done at your own risk.
Atletico Madrid fans are some of the most passionate in Spain and the cauldron-like atmosphere of the old Calderon has largely transferred to the Estadio Metropolitano.
The Atleti ultras are located in the Grada de Animacion which is the bottom section of the Fondo Sur. While much of the atmosphere is generated from this area, the Frente Atletico are a Spanish nationalist group that has been involved in a number of unpleasant incidents of a violent and/or racist nature over the years, and their continued presence in the stadium is somewhat controversial.
Access to that part of the stadium is generally restricted to club members in any case, but visitors may prefer to avoid the south stand.
The Estadio Metropolitano away section is typically located in the top tier at the north end of the ground which is furthest away from the metro station. This normally just a small block for domestic fixtures, but European visitors are generally given a larger allocation.
Visitors should be aware that only alcohol-free beer is served inside the Metropolitano on matchdays, but there are plenty of stalls and small bars around the exterior of the stadium that serve food and drinks, including alcoholic beverages.
While the location itself is far from the most appealing or interesting neighbourhood in Madrid, the stadium is located on a large open site that means there’s plenty of space to walk around and sample the pre-match atmosphere.
For big matches, many Atleti fans gather from around two hours before kick-off and let off fireworks as the team bus arrives. Coming early should enable you to witness that spectacle and also avoid the busier metro trains nearer kick-off.
You can visit the club’s shop and the “Walk of Legends” which is where you’ll find plaques for every Atleti player who has represented the club 100 or more times.
Like most major European clubs, Atletico Madrid now have a range of additional options for tours and experiences. While the stadium lacks the history of some of the continent’s most iconic grounds, it’s still an impressive place to visit.
The basic Estadio Metropolitano tour includes access to the first team’s locker room, the mixed zone, the players’ tunnel, and the benches. Audio guides are available in English and Spanish, and it includes access to the club’s interactive museum.
The whole experience may take around two hours, with a standard tour being €24 for adults and €18 for children (4-13 year olds). Infants can come for free. There are frequently promos with discounted tickets however, particularly during the summer.
Regular guided tours start at €32, while during the season an Atletico Madrid stadium tour on matchdays can be purchased from €60, with exclusive access to behind-the-scenes preparations for the game.
There’s also obviously loads to see and do in Madrid away from the Metropolitano stadium, with the Spanish capital home to some amazing museums, parks and squares, in addition to the great drinking and dining options that exist in the colourful barrios in and around the centre of the city.
If you’re craving more football, you may also want to check out Legends: The Home of Football, a large museum close to Puerta del Sol.
Football fans visiting Madrid are usually spoiled for choice when it comes to finding a game to watch, with many clubs, big and small, in and around the Spanish capital.
Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid are usually at home on different weekends in LaLiga, so it’s rarely possible to catch both on the same matchday, although they do sometimes play at home on consecutive nights in European competitions.
There will also be European football for Rayo Vallecano in the 2025/26 season, with Iñigo Perez’s side qualifying for the Conference League. The Estadio Vallecas offers a very different experience to the Estadio Metropolitano, but it’s well worth heading down to catch Rayo in action if you get the chance, with their stadium located by Portazgo metro, around 15 minutes from the heart of Madrid on Line 1.
To the south of Madrid, Getafe and Leganes will be Primera and Segunda Division clubs respectively for the 2025/26 campaign. You can also catch Alcorcon in the third tier, while there are a large number of smaller clubs in the Madrid area that play in the regional leagues.
Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid women usually play their home games at the stadium at the club’s training ground (Centro Deportivo) in the pleasant town of Alcala de Henares which is reachable in 40 minutes by Cercanias trains from Madrid’s Atocha railway station.
