At the end of the 2016/2017 season, Spanish soccer team Atlético de Madrid will move from its Vicente Calderón stadium – its home since 1966 – to the new 68,000-seat Estadio La Peineta. With 13,000 more seats than the Vicente Calderón, the new stadium will offer better amenities for fans and a more enjoyable game-day experience.
Construction of the new stadium began in 2011 in the east of Madrid and has relied on five Linden Comansa cranes, owned by Gruymsa and rented to construction company FCC. Gruymsa is the official dealer of Linden Comansa and one of the main tower crane rental companies in Spain.
Estadio La Peineta, which opened in 1994 and was part of an unsuccessful Olympic bid, forms the base of the new venue. The original stadium had a single large stand – most of which was integrated into the new project. The main tasks of the tower cranes have been in preparing the foundations and building the new stands that enclose the stadium.
Of the five Linden Comansa cranes, three are LC2074 models and two are 21LC290 models – all of them have a maximum load capacity of 12 tons. Gruymsa began erecting the cranes in July 2013, but due to the proximity of the Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas International Airport, the cranes were not able to be installed to their final height until the granting of special permission from the Spanish Aviation Safety and Security Agency. Then, Gruymsa could install the cranes to their final heights – 171ft for the smallest, and 228ft for the highest.
Four of the Linden Comansa cranes, as well as two other tower cranes from FCC’s machinery park, have completed duties on the stadium and been dismantled. A Linden Comansa 21LC290 is the only tower crane that remains at the venue, but will be removed in the coming weeks. Then, FCC will begin to build the stadium’s roof that will enable 96% of spectators to enjoy the games under cover.
