President of the Spanish Football federation Luis Rubiales spoke at the Ordinary General Assembly of … [+]
The Spanish national soccer team could have a new stadium upon the horizon, according to plans unveiled by Luis Rubiales at the Ordinary General Assembly of the Royal Spanish Football Federation at the Ciudad del Fútbol in Las Rozas.
Rubiales underlined the need for the team, who recently won the UEFA
EFA
“We deserve a national stadium,” Spanish Football Federation president Luis Rubiales said. “We want the Assembly to support us in the idea of building a national stadium of between 30 and 40 thousand spectators… We will present the project in December for the purchase of land on which to build a new stadium.”
In recent years, the Spanish national team have traveled around the country to play their matches, with the majority of fixtures taking place in the region of Madrid, Andalusia or Valencia.
Federation’s agreement with Andalusia
In 2021, the Spanish Football Federation reached an agreement with 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, Spain has played more fixtures at the Estadio de La Cartuja 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 final to the stadium.
Based on the outskirts of the city of Seville, La Cartuja has a capacity for 57,619 spectatores 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 La Cartuja, recording four wins and two draws, while they have also played at Real Betis’ Estadio Benito Villamarín and Málaga’s La Rosaleda. 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 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 to 40 thousands 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 Barcelona’s stadium and Real Madrid’s Estadio Santiago Bernabéu are undergoing major renovation works.
Beyond those, Atlético Madrid’s Estadio Cívitas Metropolitano and Real Betis’ Estadio Benito Villamarín both possess capacities in excess of 60,000 fans. The Metropolitano was the last new major stadium to be opened in Spain when its doors opened in 2017, after the San Mamés stadium was opened in Bilbao in 2013.
