San Mames welcomed over 1.6 million visitors last season
San Mames welcomed over 1.6 million visitors last season
The Cathedral is cementing its status as a multi-purpose venue, having welcomed more than 1.6 million visitors across matches, events, tours and visits to AC Museoa during the 2025/26 season
During the 2025/26 season, San Mames once again established itself as one of the major drivers of sporting, cultural, business and tourism activity in Bilbao, Bizkaia and the Basque Country.
Throughout the season, more than 1.6 million people visited The Cathedral to attend matches, events, guided tours or visits to the AC Museoa, confirming the stadium’s ability to remain active 365 days a year
On the sporting front, San Mamés hosted 27 official matches involving Athletic Club’s first teams, attracting a total of 1,192,873 spectators.
The men’s first team played 24 matches in LaLiga, the Copa del Rey and the Champions League, with a cumulative attendance of 1,163,332 fans, whilst the women’s team attracted 29,541 people to their three matches played at the stadium.
Beyond football, San Mames hosted 151 corporate, institutional, cultural and entertainment events, with a combined attendance of 261,845 people. These activities confirm the stadium’s growing versatility as a leading venue for hosting major events.
Among the season’s most notable events were the EPCR Challenge Cup and the Investec Champions Cup rugby finals, the ZETAK concert, the AC Cup international youth football tournament, the University of the Basque Country's graduation ceremony, the Korrika finish line, and an official NFL event featuring match screenings – all reflecting the diversity of events hosted by the stadium over the past year.
AC Museoa and the San Mames Tour, which account for the majority of the remaining visitors, also continued to establish themselves as two of Bilbao’s main tourist attractions, bringing Athletic Club's history and identity to thousands of visitors from all over the world.
Business activity also maintained a high level of occupancy in the stadium’s VIP areas and multi-purpose halls, which hosted conferences, conventions, presentations, professional seminars, exhibitions, gala dinners and corporate events throughout the season.
With over 1.6 million visitors during the 2025/26 season, San Mames has reaffirmed its status as a popular space, capable of combining sport, culture, business, tourism and leisure within a single complex, in addition to promoting Bilbao and Bizkaia as a destination for major events.