Santiago Bernabéu Stadium

The first major renovation occurred in 1955. On 19 June of that year, the stadium expanded to accommodate 125,000 spectators. Thus, the Madrid coliseum became the biggest stadium of all the participants of the newly established European Cup.

On 4 January 1955, after the General Assembly of Members Compromisaros, it was decided that the stadium adopt its present name in honour of club President Santiago Bernabéu.[9]

In March 1957, floodlights were installed to allow nighttime games. On 18 May of the same year, the new floodlights were officially inaugurated in a game against Brazilian club Sport Recife, which Real Madrid won 5–3.[10]

In 1965, the transfer of all the club's offices to the stadium was completed, which previously had been moved between multiple venues in the capital.[11]

On 14 December 1972, coinciding with the 25th anniversary of the Santiago Bernabéu's inauguration, the first electronic scoreboard was installed inside the stadium and later utilized for the first time in a friendly match against the same rival that Madrid faced in 1947, the Portuguese Belenenses. The match ended with a 2–1 Real victory. Days before the scoreboard had already been used for the farewell ceremony of the Madrid legend Paco Gento.[12]

The next big changes did not occur until the early 1980s with the hosting of the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain. The stadium had to adapt to the changing times and with this, architects Rafael Luis Alemany and Manuel Salinas were hired for the stadium's renovation project. The brothers were sons of Luis Alemany Soler, who carried out the original construction project next to Muñoz Monasterio. The work lasted 16 months and had a cost of 704 million pesetas (US $4.7 million), of which 530 million was paid by the City of Madrid.

The improvements included a number of points. First, FIFA forced two-thirds of the seating area to be covered. For this reason, Real Madrid installed a roof covering the perimeter of the first and second tiers of seating, except the east side. The stadium's capacity was reduced from 120,000 to 98,000 spectators, 24,550 of which were covered by the new roof. The project also involved remodeling the façade, the installation of new electronic signs in the north and south ends, as well as the renovation of the press areas, lockers rooms, access, and ancillary areas.

The stadium hosted four matches in the World Cup: three second-round Group Two matches (West Germany vs. England, West Germany vs. Spain, and Spain vs. England) and the prestigious final match (Italy vs. West Germany).

Following a series of spectator fatalities in the 1980s (most notably the Heysel Stadium in Belgium and the Hillsborough Stadium in England), English authorities released the Taylor Report on how to improve football spectator safety in English venues. UEFA followed suit across Europe. The stadium was forced to create separate shortcuts to different stadium sections and seats for all spectators.

In 1992, the board of Ramón Mendoza awarded an expansion and renovation project to Gines Navarro Construcciones, S.A. The work started on 7 February 1992 and concluded on 7 May 1994 with a final cost of more than 5 billion pesetas, substantially raising the debt of the club, which no longer had any institutional support. The work concluded with the creation of an amphitheater on the west side and in the foundations, as well as the opening of the new commercial center, "La esquina del Bernabéu." In total, 20,200 upgraded seats were installed, with each seat having a tilt of 87 degrees, ensuring a perfect view and proximity to the pitch. In addition, four entrance towers were erected on the outside, each with two staircases and a central spiral ramp, so the spectators could access the new tier and exit more quickly.[13]

With the new structure, the height of the stadium was increased from 22 m to 45 m. This caused problems during the winter, leaving two-thirds of the field of play in the shade. This lack of sunlight led to grass deterioration on the pitch. For this reason, a polypropylene pipe network was installed at a 20 cm depth under the pitch. At over 30 km long the pipe system circulates hot water, keeping the turf from freezing in cold temperatures.[13]

Also, due to the height of the stand, it was necessary to improve and increase the lighting capability. A retractable protective roof was also installed to protect the fans from the elements. After the renovation, the stadium's capacity was 106,000 spectators.[13]

In 1997, with Lorenzo Sanz as president, UEFA required the Santiago Bernabéu to adopt an all-seating arrangement, bringing its capacity down from 106,000 to 74,328 spectators.[13]

On 20 May 1999, the Tour Bernabéu opened, along with the club museum.[14]

View of the stadium during the 2006–07 La Liga, Madrid Derby

2010 UEFA Champions League Final opening ceremony

As the club kept growing in all regards, thoughts for further changes to the stadium appeared.[15] When Florentino Pérez became the president of the club, he launched a "master plan" with one goal: to improve the comfort of the Santiago Bernabéu and the quality of its facilities, and maximise revenue for the stadium.

Pérez invested €127 million in five years (2001–2006) by adding an expansion to the east side of the stadium, as well as adding a new façade on Father Damien street, new boxes and VIP areas, new dressing rooms, a new stage in honour of the east side, a new press area (also located on the east side), a new audio system, new bars, integration of heating in the stands, panoramic lifts, new restaurants, escalators in the tower access, and implementation of the multipurpose building in Father Damien street. Following the enlargement of the lateral east side and the creation of new galleries, the capacity of the Santiago Bernabéu was expanded to 80,354, all seated.

In 2007, the 1,000th match was played at the Santiago Bernabéu. In addition, UEFA decided to give the Santiago Bernabéu elite stadium status on 14 November 2007, a month before the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the inauguration of the stadium. In the latest UEFA revision on 24 October, the day a Champions League group stage match against Olympiacos was played, they decided the stadium met the expectations of an elite stadium, and upgraded its category accordingly.[16]

Pérez proposed construction of a retractable roof before he resigned in 2005. In 2009, following the re-election of Pérez as the club president, it was announced that the roof construction was looking unlikely due to the financial situation of the club. According to Spanish sports newspaper Marca, however, Pérez wants to restructure Santiago Bernabéu. According to the newspaper, the architect in charge will be chosen from among a shortlist of Spanish architects Santiago Calatrava and Pritzker Prize-winner Rafael Moneo, and Chinese-American Ieoh Ming Pei, also a Pritzker winner.[17]

In 2011, around 1,000 seats were added, bringing the stadium to its current capacity, 81,044.[3]

On 16 October 2013, Pérez announced that Real Madrid was seeking to sell the naming rights for its stadium and looking for a sponsor for the €400 million renovation project.[18] The proposed design of the stadium renovation, produced by German architects GMP, was unveiled on 31 January 2014. The bold design includes a retractable roof, with the overall cost of around €400 million likely to be met half via the sale of naming rights and half via a bond issue to Real members according to Spanish media reports. Pérez said, "We want to make the Santiago Bernabéu the best stadium in the world."[19][20] Real Madrid then announced a sponsorship agreement with IPIC to assist the club in the redevelopment of the stadium.[21][22][23] Pérez then said that in compliance to the agreement the name of the stadium would be renamed "IPIC Bernabeu" or "CEPSA Bernabeu".[24][25][26] The surface has been replaced with Mixto hybrid grass manufactured in Italy.[27]

Real Madrid and Microsoft launched the first interactive audioguide for the Bernabéu Tour on 3 April 2017. Over 200,000 people toured the stadium in 2016, of whom over 60% were foreigners.[28]

The stadium is served by its own metro station along the Line 10 called Santiago Bernabéu. It is also served by bus routes 14, 27, 40, 43, 120, 147 and 150.

Santiago Bernabéu hosted three matches of the 1964 European Nations' Cup, a tournament which Spain hosted: one qualifying match and two in the main tournament, including the final. All three matches involved Spain.

The stadium hosted one qualifying round match against Romania, which resulted in a 6–0 win.

Spain  v  Romania

1 November 1962	Spain	6–0	Romania	Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid
20:45 CEST	Guillot 7', 20', 70' Veloso 9' Collar 17' Dumitru Macri 81' (o.g.)			Attendance: 51,608 Referee: Kevin Howley (England)

The stadium hosted two matches of the tournament, including the final.

Spain  v  Hungary

17 June 1964	Spain	2–1 (a.e.t.)	Hungary	Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid
20:00 CEST	Pereda 35' Amaro 115'	Report	Bene 84'	Attendance: 34,713 Referee: Arthur Blavier (Belgium)

The match was contested by the 1960 winners, the Soviet Union, and the hosts, Spain, at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid. Spain won the match 2–1, with goals coming from Chus Pereda and Marcelino. Galimzyan Khusainov scored for the Soviet Union.[39]

Spain  v  Soviet Union

21 June 1964 (1964-06-21)	Spain	2–1	Soviet Union	Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid
18:30 CEST	Pereda 6' Marcelino 84'	Report	Khusainov 8'	Attendance: 79,115 Referee: Arthur Holland (England)

In the 1982 World Cup held in Spain, the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium hosted four matches: three in the second round (West Germany–England, West Germany–Spain and Spain–England) as well as the final between West Germany and Italy.

The stadium hosted three second round matches.

West Germany  v  England

29 June 1982	West Germany	0–0	England	Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid
21:00 CEST		Report		Attendance: 75,000 Referee: Arnaldo Cézar Coelho (Brazil)

West Germany  v  Spain

2 July 1982	West Germany	2–1	Spain	Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid
21:00 CEST	Littbarski 50' Fischer 75'	Report	Zamora 82'	Attendance: 90,089 Referee: Paolo Casarin (Italy)

Spain  v  England

5 July 1982	Spain	0–0	England	Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid
21:00 CEST		Report		Attendance: 75,000 Referee: Alexis Ponnet (Belgium)

The 1982 FIFA World Cup Final was a football match contested between Italy and West Germany. It was played on 11 July 1982.
After a scoreless first half during which Antonio Cabrini fired a penalty low and wide to the right of goal, Paolo Rossi scored first, heading home a bouncing Claudio Gentile cross from the right from close range. Marco Tardelli then scored from the edge of the area with a low left footed shot before Alessandro Altobelli, at the end of a counterattack by winger Bruno Conti, made it 3–0 with another low left footed shot. Italy's lead appeared secure, encouraging Italian president Sandro Pertini to wag his finger at the cameras in a playful 'not going to catch us now' gesture from the stands. Paul Breitner scored for Germany in the 83rd minute, firing low past the goalkeeper from the right, but Italy held on to claim their first World Cup title in 44 years, and their third in total with a 3–1 victory.[40]

Italy  v  West Germany

11 July 1982	Italy	3–1	West Germany	Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid
20:00 CEST	Rossi 57' Tardelli 69' Altobelli 81'	Report	Breitner 83'	Attendance: 90,000 Referee: Arnaldo Cézar Coelho (Brazil)