Atletico Madrid's mythical Vicente Calderon stadium will soon be history: sad news for supporters of Real Madrid's rivals but not so for locals who hope the neighbourhood will improve once noisy fans are gone.
This weekend spells the end for the ageing structure that for over 50 years has housed Atletico -- not as well known abroad as the world-famous Real Madrid despite fielding players like French star Antoine Griezmann but with a huge following in the Spanish capital.
Fans will watch Spain's Copa del Rey final between Barcelona and Alaves on Saturday and a charitable match on Sunday May 28,2017
Next year, the stadium that currently stands on the shores of the Manzanares river in southern Madrid, surrounded by blocks of flats and cheap cafeterias, will be razed to the ground.
From next season, Atletico -- which ended third in La Liga this year -- will play on the other side of the Spanish capital, at a stadium called the Wanda Metropolitano.
Still in construction, it has a capacity for 70,000 people, 15,000 more than the Calderon.
But fans are hugely attached to the worn stadium, under which passes a ring-road that circles Madrid, where Atletico played for the first time on October 2, 1966.
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