Atletico Madrid agree 10

Atletico Madrid have reached a 10-year strategic agreement with entertainment company Live Nation to stage concerts at their Metropolitano home ground, The Athletic can exclusively reveal.

It comes at a time when city rivals Real Madrid have seen their own plans to hold concerts at their refurbished Santiago Bernabeu stadium curtailed by complaints and legal disputes over noise pollution regulations.

Under Atletico’s new deal, between 15 and 20 concerts are expected to be held each year at the Metropolitano, all during the off-season months when there are no competitive club fixtures.

The agreement also includes the option of an extension beyond its 10-year term and is expected to be announced officially in the coming hours.

The plan is to use not only the stadium itself but also a new smaller arena that is due to be built alongside it, as well as an existing fan zone just outside the ground, which already has a stage.

According to industry sources, speaking anonymously as they were not authorised to comment publicly, Atletico expect to receive up to €1million (£860,000; $1.1m) in net revenue per concert.

Sources said additional income would come via the club selling a share of tickets directly, a move linked to its recent agreement with ticketing platform Fever.

Atletico already had an existing joint venture with Live Nation, and hospitality company Oak View Group, which was agreed earlier this year.

This will see €400m invested in a 20,000-capacity indoor arena next to the Metropolitano. The new venue is intended to host major live entertainment events and has been modelled on Manchester’s Co-op Live.

Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny performed 10 consecutive sold-out shows at the Metropolitano in May and June. More than 560,000 fans attended across the run, averaging around 56,000 inside the stadium each night, while thousands also gathered outside.

Revenue from non-sporting events stood at €22million in Atletico’s most recent annual budget, excluding concert ticketing, which has not previously been a revenue stream for the club.

Atletico sources told The Athletic that every concert has complied with local noise and cleanliness regulations. They also said that all events have concluded before 11pm, when stricter noise regulations come into effect.

What are Real Madrid’s Bernabeu concert problems?

Real Madrid’s Bernabeu stadium hosted 16 concerts during the summer of 2024 before complaints from local residents over excessive noise escalated into a legal dispute and forced the suspension of further concerts.

More recently, Madrid’s provincial court upheld the club’s appeals and ruled that responsibility for the noise lay with the concert promoters rather than Real Madrid. That decision has since been appealed by a Bernabeu residents’ association before Spain’s Supreme Court.

Club sources recently told The Athletic that work to improve the stadium’s soundproofing remains ongoing, although they do not believe concerts will ultimately have a major impact on the club’s finances.

Real Madrid have continued to host other non-sporting events, including Pope Leo XIV’s visit on June 8, and are also expected to stage more NFL games at the Bernabeu, as The Athletic previously revealed exclusively.

Separately, Spain’s supreme court ruled earlier this week to overturn plans for the construction of two large parking facilities at the stadium.