San Mames ( Basque. San Mames , Spanish. San Mamés ) - a football stadium in Bilbao ( Basque Country , Spain ), which existed from 1913 to 2013. It was the home arena of the Athletic Bilbao football club. The stadium capacity was 39 670 seats. San Mamez was one of the oldest stadiums in Spain; it was opened on August 21, 1913 . It was demolished in 2013 to make way for the completion of the new Nuevo San Mames stadium .
| San mames | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | Bilbao , Basque Country , Spain |
| Built | January 20, 1913 |
| Open | August 21, 1913 |
| Architect | Manuel Maria Smith |
| Owner | |
| Capacity | 39,670 |
| Home team | Athletic Bilbao |
| Field dimensions | 104 x 68 |
History
The stadium was built next to the church of San Mamés ( St. Mames ). For its religious heritage, San Mamez was nicknamed La Catedral (Cathedral). The current stadium was almost completely rebuilt for the matches of the World Cup, held in Spain. At the stadium 3 matches were played.
In March 2006, the design of a new stadium with a capacity of 53,000 seats was approved. The construction of the new one was carried out in the immediate vicinity of the old San Mames, but the old stadium functioned as the home arena of Athletics Bilbao, until 3/4 of the new stadium was built. After that, Athletic Bilbao moved to a new arena, and the old one was demolished to build the remainder of the Nuevo San Mames.