Goodbye San Mamés – La Catedral

In these days of new modern stadia often the old and nostalgic is remembered as warmly as the new.

On 16th September 2013 a new stadium in Bilbao was inaugurated. But the older Estadio San Mamés, also known as La Catedral, will certainly not be forgotten quickly in this part of Spain.  

The San Mames was the former home of Athletic de Bilbao also known as Los Leones de San Mamés-Bilboko lehoiak or The Lions of San Mamés.

On March 2006, a project was approved to replace the original San Mamés stadium with a new and larger version. It increasrf the stadium capacity to 53,000.

The new San Mamés Stadium was built on the former site of the Bilbao International Trade Fair.  

Construction began in April 2010 and after it was three quarters completed Athletic Club moved into the new home.

The original San Mamés was demolished.

On 19 September 2014, the San Mames was selected to be one of the 13 venues to host matches at UEFA Euro 2020.

The new stadium was to host three group stage matches and one Round of 16 match*.

Europa League finalists in 2012, Athletic Bilbao are a highly progressive club with a clear and ambitious strategic development plan.  Just before the San Mamés was demolished we went to Bilbao to get one final look at one of Spain’s best loved stadiums – captured in pictures for one last time.

You can see the images from the Old Stadium here.

*This article first appeared in voicesinfootball.com during 2012. Due to the Pandemic crisis of 2020 the San Mames was withdrawn as a host venue for Euro 2020, a tournament that was eventually played in 2021.