Smart football stadiums:Madrid's Metropolitano looks to the future with pioneering new technology

The Riyadh Air Metropolitano stadium in Madrid, the home stadium of Atlético Madrid, is transforming into a smart stadium with the incorporation of the LG SkyRibbon, a pioneering audiovisual technology that is redefining the experience in the sports venue.

With this leap, Atlético becomes the first club in the world to integrate this state-of-the-art LED solution, a project developed and implemented by Telefónica, the stadium's technology partner since 2017.

The Sky Ribbon, a 360° LED screen of almost 2,000 square metres that runs along the inner ring of the stadium with a perimeter of 404 metres and nearly five metres high, has transformed the atmosphere of the Metropolitano thanks to its ability to adapt to complex three-dimensional shapes and its optimal visibility from any point.

Its respectful integration into the original architecture of the venue has been one of the pillars of the project.

"The SkyRibbon is an audiovisual experience, a new digital skin for the Metropolitano," explained René Abril, director of technology and digital development at Atlético de Madrid.

"We bring an innovative support that enriches an experience that was already good and that we now believe is even better".

The installation is part of a wider technological renovation that includes new interior and exterior lighting, a 360° video scoreboard, exterior LED screens on the access columns, a large panel at gate 34, the fully digitised players' exit tunnel and advanced connectivity of the VIP Tunnel Club by Riyadh Air space.

Telefónica has led the entire engineering process, integrating cabling, data network and redundant video signal without modifying the original structure of the stadium.

The first fully digital stadium in Europe

The Metropolitano, moreover, was conceived from its construction as a fully digital stadium. In its previous stage under the name Cívitas Metropolitano, it became the first 100 per cent digital stadium in Europe, an infrastructure managed from an intelligent control room that coordinates a thousand screens, 160 security cameras, 7,000 network points and 1,600 WiFi points with 5G coverage.

This connectivity has enabled projects such as 5G Multicam, which offers fans real-time images from angles normally inaccessible through 360º cameras and virtual reality experiences.

This digital vision is not only about efficiency, but also about a more powerful emotional experience. Those behind the project recognise that the aim was to create a real "wow" effect, a visual impact that would surprise even regular stadium-goers.

The result has been particularly well received by fans, who appreciate both the spectacular nature of the Sky Ribbon and the improved connectivity and fluidity of the interior circulation.

The technology also benefits the stadium on non-football days. Thanks to its digital infrastructure and advanced audiovisual capabilities, the Metropolitano has become a versatile venue that hosts concerts, major corporate events and large-scale shows, an activity that extends its economic and cultural impact beyond sport.

With the integration of the Sky Ribbon and the consolidation of its technological ecosystem, the Metropolitano reaffirms its position as one of the most advanced stadiums in the world, a venue that already hosted the Champions League final in 2019 and will do so again in 2027, as well as being one of the main venues for the 2030 World Cup.