Atletico Madrid Should Have Eye on West Ham as New Stadium Looms

The images and the videos were vivid and pristine. On top of a shiny exterior, a red and white LED-lit roof capable of seemingly anything dominated the vision of Atletico Madrid's new stadium. The message, as they always are in these brochure-like exercises, was one of prosperity and unlimited possibilities, the future as bright as those millions of LED bulbs. The problem is that such visions tend to obscure complexities. 

On the day Atletico Madrid announced a lighting deal with Philips for the club's new stadium set to be opened next season, it was striking that West Ham United vice-chair Karren Brady was busy defending her own club's new home, it too having once been presented like Atletico's but now engulfed in problematic realities. 

At a sports business conference, Brady spoke of rebranding, opportunities and values. The London Stadium, she said, is "the best stadium—there are some great stadiums in this country but there is only one Olympic Stadium and it's ours. It's really had a dynamic impact on the things we can do."

Her defence included an insistence that the protection of West Ham's traditions and heritage remained a priority despite the move. That may be true, but Brady's assessment came against a backdrop of fan unrest, ticketing and security issues at the club's new home, a lost atmosphere, troubling on-field struggles and a sense of a club on a wider level unsure of its evolving identity.

As others have also found out, West Ham have discovered that moving is hard. Atletico Madrid are a different club, and theirs is a stadium surrounded by different issues, but West Ham should stand as an important reference point for the men about to depart the Vicente Calderon. It's rarely as great as it looks. 

As Atletico unveiled the deal with Philips, club president Enrique Cerezo said confidently that the new stadium, still under construction, would be ready in time for the beginning of next season.

"The stadium will be a reality next year," he said, per Sport (h/t ESPN FC). "We are working as a team with the regional government and the town hall so that we can have installed for next season—new lights, new services, parking, restaurants, metro [services]. Everything."

For those in charge, it will be a relief if that comes to fruition. The project of moving to La Peineta is almost a decade in the making and has been hit by numerous disruptions, the main sticking points revolving around the planning of towers on the site of the Calderon and on the development of transport services to the new ground based on the outskirts of Madrid. 

As ever, such a move is about taking steps commercially. With an expected capacity of 70,000, the new stadium will be capable of housing an extra 15,000 fans on matchdays compared with the Calderon. It will also give Atleti the ability to provide premium services to those wanting them, and the club will work with CenterplateISG to boost matchday revenue. Naming rights are still to be resolved. 

But if relief or anticipation is the emotion for those in charge, apprehension will likely dominate the minds of many fans. The typical charge thrown against clubs amid moves such as these is that they're selling out and throwing away their soul. That's overly simplistic, but as West Ham are discovering, it's difficult to put your identity in the moving trucks and unpack it when they pull up. 

If you've never been to the Calderon, it's a place so tied into what Atletico are that leaving home will be more challenging than it would be for many others.  

Down on the banks of the Manzanares, with holes in each side, almost slouching back over the motorway running underneath its main stand, the stadium that's housed Atleti for half a century has a gritty feel that fits so neatly with its team.

From the city centre, the journey to it is downhill and past bars that spill out into the street, making it feel as though your descending into a fierce, rugged pit of red-and-white intensity. Exploding fireworks and chants dominate the soundtrack as you approach. Once inside, the ultras behind the southern goal are as loud as any in Europe.  

For the first-time visitor, it can be intimidating, with a palpable edge in the air. For opposing players and managers, it's the ultimate "horrible place to go," everything working in unison—the fans, the building, the noise, the look, the sound, the team's style—all of it connected. Moving involves upsetting that. 

Atletico's new stadium lies on the other side of the city, out near Madrid-Barajas Airport. Getting there isn't easy, and that it's in what you might call Real Madrid territory won't sit comfortably. The transition will require time, but the example of West Ham shows what sort of headaches can begin immediately. 

At the London Stadium, a certain disharmony has blighted the Hammers' opening months. According to the Guardian's Owen Gibson, the dynamic of the Boleyn Ground has been lost with fans displaced from the environment they seek. Those after a boisterous section have found themselves split up; those looking for a family area haven't found it.

Additionally, there appears a divide between those who want to stand and those who don't. In moving into more up-market surrounds, the environment is also painted as old vs. new, rough vs. posh and so on. Conflict has broken out among some home fans, and stewards who grew familiar with certain sections of the old stadium have been denied continuity of placement in the new one. 

So what are the positives? "We are in the Olympic Stadium, we have limited outside debt and we are ranked 15th in terms of brand values," said Brady in defence of the move. "We were 115th when I joined the club. We're now 20th in the Deloitte Money League."

Commercially, the benefits are obvious, but for now, West Ham have a stadium that doesn't feel anything like home, almost acting as an odd sort of neutral venue because it's not "them." Not yet, anyway. 

Atletico could soon encounter similar issues. La Peineta represents the possibility of joining Europe's financial elite for Atleti, of the club growing up, of taking a giant step forward. But being elitist isn't Atleti. The idea behind the new stadium, then, clashes with the idea of how the fans see the club itself, and working through that will be difficult. Those LEDs would look rather out of place at the Calderon.