- San Mamés Stadium
Infobox Stadium
stadium_name = San Mamés
nickname = La Catedral
fullname = Estadio San Mamés
location =Bilbao ,Spain
built = 20 January, 1913
opened = 21 August, 1913
renovated = 1982FIFA World Cup 1982
closed =
demolished =
owner =Athletic Club Bilbao
operator =Athletic Club Bilbao
surface = Grass
construction_cost = 50.000 ptas
architect =Manuel Maria Smith
former_names =
tenants =Athletic Club Bilbao
seating_capacity =
39,750 [http://www.fussballtempel.net/uefa/ESP.html]
dimensions =
104 x 68 mEstadio San Mamés, AKA "La Catedral" (The Cathedral), is a football stadium in
Bilbao ,Spain . The stadium is the home ofAthletic Club Bilbao , known as "Los leones de San Mamés-Bilboko leoiak" (The lions of San Mamés). They are known as "Los leones" because their stadium was built near a church called "San Mamés" (Saint Mammes).Mammes was an earlyChristian thrown to the lions by the Romans. The lions refused to eat Mammes and he was later made asaint . [http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mam%C3%A9s]History
Opened in 1913, the stadium is Spain's oldest, condition that has granted it its nickname, and can seat almost forty thousand people.
The current stadium was almost completely rebuilt to host matches in the
1982 FIFA World Cup .In March 2006 new project has been approved to rebuild the stadium increasing seats up to 58,000. The
New San Mamés Stadium will be built in the adjacent terrain that was occupied until 2003 by the Bilbao International Trade Fair. Three quarters of the stadium will be built and then the matches will take place in the new stadium and the old one will be demolished. In the remaining terrain the last side of the new stadium will be completed and theUniversity of the Basque Country will build a new campus.References
External links
* [http://www.worldstadiums.com/stadium_pictures/europe/spain/basque_country/bilbao_san_mames.shtml San Mamés Stadium]
* [http://www.athletic-club.net/ Athletic Club Official Site]
* [http://www.sanmames.org/ San Mamés Stadium Unofficial Site]
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