‘Sports city’ to skirt Atlético Madrid home

Article posted by Coliseum, January 25^th, 2021

Image: palco23.com

The Madrid (Spain) City Council has rolled out a plan to transform the area surrounding the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium into a ‘sports city’ development.

Metropolitano Stadium, also referred to as Wanda Metropolitano for sponsorship reasons, is a stadium in Madrid, Spain. It has been the home stadium of Atlético Madrid since the 2017-18 seasons. The stadium is home to Atlético Madrid’s first team matches.

Atlético Madrid is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid, that plays in LaLiga. The club play their home games at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium, which has a capacity of 68,456.

The home of LaLiga football club Atlético de Madrid has been proposed for a change of use from a “singular public sports venue” to a private sports venue. The 67,000-seat Wanda Metropolitano opened in 2017 and replaced the Vicente Calderón as Atlético’s home stadium.

It was developed on a site that was originally envisioned as an Olympic Stadium for the Spanish capital’s failed bids for the 2016 and 2020 Summer Games. The council believes it can develop an “authentic sports city” in the surrounding area utilizing infrastructure put in place for the Olympic bids, such as the half-built aquatics center which was mothballed in 2010 having already received a reported €100m (£89.8m/$110.1m) capital injection.

The Council said the new development could be utilized by the local residents and serve as a base to boost grassroots sport, as well as host major events.

A statement sent out by the Council read, “The objective of this plan, which involves the specific modification of the Plan General de Ordenación Urbana del 97 para el ámbito Parque Olímpico Sector Oeste y la Ordenación del Parque Deportivo del Este, is to define the framework for the development and execution of a sports city in service to Madrid and the San Blas-Canillejas district that contributes to territorial rebalancing, accommodates uses and activities appropriate to current demand and takes advantage of the attractiveness of the Atlético de Madrid football stadium.”

The modification of the general plan contemplates a division into two areas – Parque Deportivo del Este, with an area of 1.1 million square meters, and consolidated urban land, with an area of 88,150 square meters, including the Metropolitano.

The statement added, “In short, that what was built for an Olympic Games that never took place ceases to be a ghost of the past and is adapted so that it can be used and enjoyed by the citizens of Madrid and, in addition, serve as a boost to the entire area.”

The council’s announcement comes after it was reported in September 2019 that Atlético was exploring plans to build a wide-ranging sports city next to the Wanda Metropolitano.

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