Spain soccer team new stadium on the cards

Article posted by Coliseum, July 6^th, 2023

Image: Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, Fernando Pascullo, CC BY-SA 4.0

The Spanish national soccer team could have a new stadium upon the horizon, according to plans unveiled by the President of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) Luis Rubiales at the Ordinary General Assembly of the RFEF held at the Ciudad del Fútbol (football training facility) in Las Rozas, Spain.

‘Forbes’ stated that Rubiales underlined the need for the team, who recently won the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Nations League tournament, to have a home stadium and base where they could play all of their home fixtures from.

The Spain national football team (ESP) has represented Spain in international men’s football competitions since 1920. It is governed by the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), the governing body for football in Spain.

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The Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) is the governing body of football in Spain. It is based in La Ciudad del Fútbol of Las Rozas near Madrid. It was founded on September 29^th, 1913.

The La Ciudad del Fútbol of Las Rozas is a football training facility in Madrid, Spain, which opened in 2003, serving as the headquarters of the Royal Spanish Football Federation as well as the official training centre of the Spanish football team.

Nyon (Switzerland)-based the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach football in Europe and the transcontinental countries of Turkey, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russia, and Kazakhstan, as well as some Asian countries such as Israel, Cyprus and Armenia. The UEFA consists of 55 national association members. Because of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the FIFA and UEFA suspended all Russian national teams and clubs from any FIFA and UEFA competitions.

The UEFA Nations League is a biennial international football competition contested by the senior men’s national teams of the member-associations of UEFA, the sport’s European governing body.

Averred Rubiales, “We deserve a national stadium. We want the Assembly to support us in the idea of building a 30,000-40,000-capacity national stadium … we will present the project in December for the purchase of land on which to build a new stadium.”

‘Forbes’ further stated that in recent years, the Spanish national team have traveled around Spain to play their matches, with the majority of fixtures taking place in the region of Madrid, Andalusia or Valencia.

RFEF-Andalusia Deal

In 2021, the Spanish Football Federation reached an agreement with the local authorities in Andalusia to use facilities in their region for 24 matches, including fixtures involving the men’s and women’s national team and the Under-21s.

Since then, the Spain national football team has played more fixtures at the 60,000-capacity Estadio de La Cartuja in Seville, Spain, than any other. The arena, which is set to host Spain’s fixture against Scotland in October, was unused between 2012 and 2020 for soccer matches, before the Federation took the Copa del Rey (annual knockout football competition of Spanish football) final to the stadium.

Based on the outskirts of the City of Seville, La Cartuja has a capacity for 57,619 spectators and has hosted matches from the EURO 2020 tournament as well as the UEFA Cup final in 2003. It was initially opened in 1999 after a €120 million ($131.4 million) investment.

Since 2020, Spain have played six matches at the La Cartuja, recording four wins and two draws, while they have also played at the LaLiga team Real Betis Balompié’s home ground – the 60,721-capacity Estadio Benito Villamarín in Seville, Spain, and the Primera Federación team Málaga CF home venue – the 30,044-capacity La Rosaleda in Málaga, Spain.

In total, Andalusia has hosted more Spanish national team fixtures than any other Spanish region, at 85, leading the capital Madrid, which has hosted 73.

Location yet to be Determined

Despite that, Rubiales did not give any information on where a new stadium could be based. Madrid’s place as the nation’s capital and the central geographical point would make it a strong contender, looking to add to the 70 matches that the City has hosted for the national team.

Other options could include Seville, which has hosted 53 matches, or Valencia, with 35, or another location away from the usual haunts of the Spanish national team.

Rubiales’ plans to build offices for the Spanish Football Federation into the project could suggest that it would not be in the same place as the Ciudad del Fútbol in Las Rozas, just outside Madrid.

With Rubiales looking for a target capacity of 30,000-40,000 spectators, the arena will not be one of Spain’s biggest. A total of 19 sports stadiums in Spain boast capacities of over 30,000, with 10 of those surpassing 40,000.

The largest sporting arena in Spain is the Spotify Camp Nou, with a capacity of 99,354, and both FC Barcelona’s stadium – the Spotify Camp Nou – and Real Madrid CF’s 81,044-capacity Estadio Santiago Bernabéu – are undergoing major renovation works.

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