The stadium at Santiago Bernabeu is the subject of this essay. It is the home stadium of the popular team of the Spanish capital, Real Madrid, the famous Spanish club football team, and La Liga. The European Champions League has hosted four rounds in the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, one of the most popularly visited venues in the entire world.
The stadium at Santiago Bernabeu’s history
The Santiago Bernabéu Stadium land was purchased on June 22, 1944, by the Commercial and Industrial Bank with credit to Santiago Bernabéu and Rafael Salgado. After purchasing the land, on September 5, 1944, engineers Manuel Muñoz Monasterio and Luis Alemany Soler began the construction of this stadium. Exactly on October 27, 1944, the construction of the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium began. The stadium, which was originally called the new Chamartín Stadium, was finally officially opened on December 14, 1947, with a match between Real Madrid and the Portuguese team Os Belenenses. The Santiago Bernabéu stadium originally had a capacity of only 75,145 people, but the stadium only had 27,645 seats, so 47,500 people had to watch the game from the stands.
For football friends who are fans of Real Madrid, it is known that Sabino Barinaga scored a goal in this stadium for the first time. The Santiago Bernabéu Stadium had its first reconstruction in 1954, which enhanced the stadium’s seating capacity to 125,000. This increase in capacity made this stadium known as the largest among the newly established European Cup stadiums. It was on January 4, 1955, that it was finally decided in the general meeting of the dispute resolution members to change the name of the stadium to Santiago Bernabéu, which is the name we know this stadium by today.
It was from 1957 onwards that the Real Madrid Stadium began to comply with various standards such as the use of electric lights for the lighting of the stadium. However, in the mid-1980s, due to increased safety and standards, UEFA imposed new security standards for European stadiums, according to which stadium officials had to build separate shortcuts from different parts of the stadium and spectator seats.
In the 1990s, this stadium again entered the phase of reconstruction and expansion in many fields, which was so successful that it won various awards for this club and its supervising engineers. By making new changes in this stadium, the height of the stadium increased from 22 meters to 45 meters. This was a big issue because it caused the pitch to be dark in the winter, and the lack of sunlight on 2/3 of the stadium’s grass caused them to wilt.
For this reason, a polypropylene pipe network was installed at a depth of 20 cm under the grass of the stadium. The stream of warm water that was conveyed by this conduit prevented the stadium’s turf from freezing. In these renovations, a retractable roof was also installed to protect the spectators from electrical structures. The stadium’s capacity was increased as a consequence of these improvements to 110,000 spectators. When Florentino Perez began his presidency at Real Madrid, he even gave the Santiago Bernabéu a plan to improve. In this sense, Perez’s aim was to make the stadium more pleasant and to improve the quality of the amenities, so increasing the stadium and the club’s revenue.
The Games
A 2-0 win in front of 125,000 people in 1957 have Real Madrid their second European Club Cup title.
The Spanish national team achieved a great victory in this stadium and won the European Championship for the first time in their country in 1964.
The final of the cup competition in the European Cup between Hamburg and Nottingham Forest ended with a score of 1-0 in favor of the Nottingham team. And in this stadium, Italy and Germany faced off in the 1982 World Cup final, which concluded 3-1 to Italy’s advantage.
On May 22, 2010, the final of the European Club Cup between Inter Milan and Bayern Munich was held in this stadium.
What did Santiago Bernabeu do and who was he?
Mr. Santiago Bernabeu started playing football in Real Madrid at the age of 14 and later he was the first secretary and coach of this club. From 1943 to 1978, he presided over Real Madrid. Santiago wanted Real Madrid to be the finest football team in both Europe and the entire globe. For this, he constructed a brand-new stadium that was eventually given his name. At that time, when the only way for clubs to earn was ticket sales, he had this idea in his head to have the biggest income with the biggest stadium and therefore the best club in the world. The current stadium of Real Madrid takes its name from Santiago Bernabeu.
The excitement in the Bernabeu stadium tour
During the tour and visit to the Bernabeu stadium, the tour guide will take you to see different parts of the stadium and will show you the position of the officials and the presidential balcony. You will be in the position of team coaches and you can record your photos and moments in them. Looking at different parts of the field and stadium from the view of coaches and players on the bench is also very exciting.
Bernabeu tour will take you to discover the history of Real Madrid. You will visit the exhibition booths and closely witness a collection of trophies, championship cups, and other items that make up a large part of this team’s heritage. From watching the ball and sportswear of this team to the documents and photos of the players from the past until now, you can see everything closely in the exhibition tour of the Bernabeu Stadium.
Items available in Santiago Stadium for tourists
In the Santiago training camp, a number of wonderful screens with high sound and image quality have been installed, on which contents such as “The best club in history” and parts of the extraordinary games of the Real Madrid team are being broadcast and performed. The services provided in the stadium include shopping centers, information centers, restaurants, elevators, catering, and tour guides. Also, the door of the stadium is open every day and on most days of the year for spectators and football enthusiasts so that they can watch the greatness and history of this Madrid stadium. Don’t forget to visit the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid during your tour and trip to Madrid.
Conclusion
The success of Real Madrid and Spanish football has been greatly affected by the renowned and legendary Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. This stadium is famous around the globe due to its unique design and full of amenities. With a significant refurbishment planned, the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium is destined to maintain its history for many years to come.
