San Mamés Stadium

San Mamés, known as La Catedral, the Cathedral, is the home of Athletic Club, and it is one of the best-known football grounds in Spain, and the pride of the Basque Country and the home of one of Spain’s most historic clubs. The present stadium opened in September 2013 on the site of the old San Mamés, which had stood since 1913, and it holds about fifty-three thousand spectators. The architects, from the Basque firm IDOM, designed a bowl with a translucent, shimmering outer skin of panels that glow red and white at night, the colours of the club, and a roof that covers all the stands. The stadium stands on Calle Rafael Moreno Pichichi, named for the club’s legendary 1910s striker, beside the Nervión River and the Abandoibarra area, close to the centre of Bilbao, and the metro station of the same name is at its door.

The name has religious origins. San Mamés is the Basque and Spanish form of Saint Mamas, a Christian martyr, and the name was taken from the area of the city where the first ground was built. The nickname of La Catedral came about because the old ground was seen as a holy place of football. Athletic Club is, in many ways, a unique institution. Founded in 1898, it is one of only three clubs, with Real Madrid and Barcelona, that have never been relegated from the top division of Spanish football. It follows a policy of fielding players who were born or trained in the Basque Country, which is unusual in modern football and is a source of local pride, and the club draws on a famous youth academy at Lezama.

Visitors can see the stadium on a guided tour, which starts from gates 19 and 20. The route takes in the changing rooms, the tunnel, the press conference room, the stands and the edge of the pitch, and it gives a feel for the way the matches look and sound. The San Mamés Museum, in the same complex, tells the history of the club, with trophies, shirts, photographs and film, and explains the policy of the Basque players and the traditions of the supporters. Visits run on certain days of the week, with hours that differ by season, and tickets combine the tour and museum.

The stadium has hosted important events. Matches of the European Championship held in 2021 were played here, and the final of the 2025 Europa League took place at San Mamés. On match days, the area is full of supporters, and the atmosphere is intense, so the best way to experience it is to attend a game, subject to the availability of tickets.

The stadium is within walking distance of the Guggenheim Museum, the Bilbao Fine Arts Museum and the waterfront of Abandoibarra, and it is easy to combine with a day in the city. Tours and the museum may be unavailable on match days, so check the club’s official site.