Las Ventas Bullfighting Ring was built to substitute the bullfighting ring situated on the Aragon highway for a larger one, given that the capacity of this previous one was insufficient because of the demographic growth that Madrid experimented during the first half of the twentieth century.
The new bull fighting ring was inaugurated on 21 October 1934. It remained open without interruption until 1936, the year in which the spanish civil war began. The construction was directed by the architect Jose Espeliu, who died without seeing his work completed. The ring has a Mozarabic tendency. The walls are inlaid with ceramic depictions of the shields of all the spanish provinces, as well as ther purely ornamental motifs.
The system of construction used is mixed; the exterior walls are of brick and a metallic weaving, which support all of the pieces and even the sections. The bleachers and stadns are made of wood and have rings of the same material that rest on the floor. The arena is 60 meters in diameter.
All of the seats are numbered and they are grouped into three levels: sections, bleachers, and stands. The sections are divided into low and high. The low sections are subdivided into barrier, front row, second row and 14 additional rows. The high sections have a front row, and 15 additional rows of seats. The bleachers have a front row and 6 additional rows, the same as the stands. The seating capacity of the bull ring is 23.000. At the present 80% of the seats belong to season ticket holders. The bullfighting ring also has a Horse Arena, a Haul Arena and an infirmary (which can be reached directly from the bullring) and a chapel and a bullfighting museum, all which are open to the public. At present the owner of the bullfighting ring is the regional community of Madrid, but various private companies manage it.
The bullfighting ring is situated on Alcala Street number 237, and the fastest and easiest way to get there is by underground. Lines 2 and 5 stop at the Las Ventas station, which is in the same area as the bullring. Other ways of getting to the bullring are by taxi or car, although going by car is the least convenient form of transport, given the parking difficulties in the area.
