Cheap Hotels in Madrid

Santiago Bernabeu Stadium Madrid

The Santiago Bernabeu stadium is home of Real Madrid football club. Real Madrid were founded as a club in 1902 and moved several times in the early years. In 1912 the club moved to the Campo de O’Donnell where it stayed for eleven years.

After another club move a stadium at the Estadio Chamartin was inaugurated on May the 17th with a game against Newcastle United. The stadium held at this time just 22,500 spectators, but the success of the Real Madrid team lead to a new and larger stadium being a major priority.

In 1943 a new president was elected at Don Santiago de Bernabeu. It was his vision and ambitions for the club which you can see today.

The first match to be played in the new stadium was between Real Madrid and OS Belenenses which Madrid won 3-1, though the Belenenses team did score the first goal. The match was watched by a crowd of 75,300.

The stadium is considered by many football fans as the home of Europe’s greatest football team. The stadium today has a capacity of 80,400 and is situated in the heart of Madrid’s financial district.

Work on the stadium started in 1944 and took three years to complete. The stadium was originally called Estadio Chamartin after the previous grounds name. The name change came in the year 1955 when in honour of the clubs president Mr Santiago Bernabeu.

During its history the stadium capacity has fluctuated over the years. In 1953 crowds peaked at 120,000 as the people of Madrid, flocked to the stadium to see their beloved Real play.

The stadium has gone through several modernisations leading to today capacity reduction. In the season of 1998/1999 the stadiums last standing places where taken out. The changes were enforced by UEFA’s decision to forbid, anyone from standing at UEFA competitions. The stadiums last change was in 2003, when an additional 5,000 seats were added, bringing the capacity up to 80,400.

Recently a plan was submitted and passed for the stadium to have a retractable roof. Work on the roof has yet to begin or a date for work to commence.

The Bernabeu has an official 5 star UEFA rating and over the years as hosted many of Spain’s International games.  Games were held at the stadium during the World Cup in 1982, when Spain hosted the competition.

If you are planning on a visit to the Bernabeu Stadium a wide range of cheap hotels in Madrid can be found nearby. One of the closet hotels to the stadium is the 4 star NH La Habana hotel.