After moving between grounds the team moved to the
"Campo de O'Donnell" in 1912, which remained its home ground for eleven years.
[6] After this period, the club moved for one year to the
Campo de Ciudad Lineal, a small ground with a capacity of 8,000 spectators. After that, Real Madrid moved its home matches to
Estadio Chamartín which was inaugurated on 17 May 1923 with a match against
Newcastle United.
[40] In this stadium, which hosted 22,500 spectators, Real Madrid celebrated its first Spanish league title.
[8] After some successes, the 1943 elected president
Santiago Bernabéu decided that the
Estadio Chamartín was not big enough for the ambitions of the club. A new stadium was built and was inaugurated on 14 December 1947.
[10][41] This was the
Santiago Bernabéu Stadium as it is known today, although it did not acquire this name until 1955.
[11] The first match held on Bernabéu was played between Real Madrid and the Portuguese club
Belenenses and won by The Whites with 3–1, the first goal being scored by Sabino Barinaga.
[10]
The capacity has changed frequently, peaking at 120,000 after a 1953 expansion.
[42][43] Since then, there have been a number of reductions due to modernizations (the last standing places went away in 1998–99 in response to
UEFA regulations which forbids standing at matches in the UEFA competition), countered to some extent by expansions.
[42] The last change was an increase of about five thousand to a capacity of 80,354, effected in 2003. A plan to add a retractable roof has been announced.
[44]
The Bernabéu has hosted the
1964 European Championship final, the
1982 FIFA World Cup final, the
1957,
1969 and
1980 European Cup finals and the
2010 Champions League Final.
[45] The stadium has its own
Madrid Metro station along the 10 line called
Santiago Bernabéu.
[46] On 14 November 2007, the Bernabéu has been upgraded to
Elite Football Stadium status by UEFA.
[47]
On 9 May 2006, the
Alfredo Di Stéfano Stadium was inaugurated at the City of Madrid where Real Madrid usually trains. The inaugural match was played between Real Madrid and
Stade Reims, a rematch of the 1956 European Cup final. Real Madrid won the match 6–1 with goals from
Sergio Ramos,
Cassano (2),
Soldado (2), and
Jurado. The venue is now part of the
Ciudad Real Madrid, the club's new training facilities located outside
Madrid in Valdebebas. The stadium holds 5,000 people and is
Real Madrid Castilla's home ground. It is named after former Real footballer Alfredo Di Stéfano.
[48]
