La Romareda

La Romareda
Full name Estadio La Romareda
Location Zaragoza, Spain
Coordinates 41°38′11.73″N 0°54′6.56″W / 41.6365917°N 0.9018222°W
Owner Ayuntamiento de Zaragoza
Operator Real Zaragoza
Capacity 34,596
Field size 105 m × 68 m (344 ft × 223 ft)
Surface Grass
Construction
Broke ground 19 September 1956
Opened 8 September 1957
Renovated 1977, 1982, 1994
Construction cost 21,512,640.50 pesetas
Architect Francisco Riestra
Project manager José Beltrán
General contractor Agromán
Tenants
Real Zaragoza

Estadio La Romareda [esˈtaðjo ðe la romaˈɾeða] is the home stadium of Real Zaragoza, in Zaragoza. It was inaugurated on September 8, 1957, with a game between Real Zaragoza and CA Osasuna (4–3). The official capacity is 34,596, with an average attendance of around 30,000 for Real Zaragoza matches.

The stadium has gone through various upgrades, in 1977 and in 1982, when it was a 1982 FIFA World Cup venue. The stadium was also used for football group matches and a quarterfinal during the 1992 Summer Olympics. It became an all-seater stadium in 1994.

Plans to build a new stadium in Zaragoza have been abandoned.

La Romareda was proposed as the Olympic Stadium in Jaca's failed bid for the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Works for the enlargement of La Romareda into a 43,000-seat stadium were due to begin on April 17, 2006 and end in time for the Zaragoza Expo of 2008. However, a lawsuit was filed by a political party (PAR), claiming that the enlargement of the stadium would be to the detriment of the population, in order to suspend the planned works. A judge ordered the suspension and the works were put on hold.

History

The construction of La Romareda was due to the efforts of the mayor, Luis Gómez Laguna, and his successor Cesáreo Alierta, who was the president of Real Zaragoza. Their previous ground Estadio Torrero, with a capacity of 20,000, was considered too small.

environs at Estadio La Romareda

The matter was brought before the city council, who on 9 February 1956 approved the plans to build the stadium. The task of building the stadium was given to the construction company Agroman, who in the 15 months it took to build the stadium employed 350 employees.

Nets

La Romareda boasts the bizarre claim to have Europe's deepest goal nets, which stretch back four metres. The nets also have a striking blue and white diagonal stripe design.

1982 FIFA World Cup

The stadium was one of the venues of the 1982 FIFA World Cup, and held the following matches:

Date Team #1 Res. Team #2 Round
1982-06-17 Yugoslavia0–0 Northern IrelandGroup 6 (First Round)
1982-06-21 Honduras1–1 Northern IrelandGroup 6 (First Round)
1982-06-24 Honduras0–1 YugoslaviaGroup 6 (First Round)

External links