Atlético de Madrid had been occupying a piece of land in the Tiro del Pichón, near the park, since 1902, but due to the rise of football in Spain during the first decades of the 20th century, the club looked for a new location to develop its activities, and so, at the end of 1912, the construction of a new stadium began.

The project was carried out thanks to the financial contribution of Manuel Rodríguez Arzuaga, patron of the club, who put up 30,000 pesetas (which at the time represented a fortune) to prepare the land and pay for the 600 linear meters of wood used in the fenced.

[3] The O'Donnell Field was a pioneer as it was the first to install fences, which allowed the start of ticket sales to generate income, which their previous stadium, Tiro del Pichón, did not have.

The new stadium was inaugurated on 9 February 1913 with a match against Athletic Club, finishing in a victory for the Biscayan team by 0-4 with goals from Luis Cortadi, José María Belauste and Pichichi (brace).

[6] Later, due to the large increase in the number of fans, the then-president Julián Ruete decided to move the team to the Estadio Metropolitano de Madrid, a more modern field and the first with a grass pitch in the club's history.