Logroño is a city with a population of 150,000 and ever since its most successful club, Club Deportivo Logroñés got into financially choppy waters at the end of the 1990's, no fewer than four clubs have sprung up, all vying for what limited support the city has to offer. The past ten years has seen Asociación Deportiva Fundación Logroñés and Logroñés Club de Fútbol arrive on the seen and quickly depart, but more significantly it has also seen the demise in 2009 of CD Logroñés, the one club from the Region of La Rioja to reach and for nearly a decade, maintain a place in La Primera. You can read about the club and the stadium here.
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| The short-lived CD Recreación turn a few heads at Mundial 82 |
Out of the ashes of the old club was formed Sociedad Deportiva Logroñés, a fan based organisation that started life out at the Nuevo Estadio Municipal Las Gaunas, a new stadium that had opened in 2002 about 200 metres to the south of the original Las Gaunas. At the end of their first season however, the municipal council changed the terms of the tenancy for the stadium and the other club in town Unión Deportiva Logroñés, got to stay on at Nuevo Las Gaunas and SD Logroñés had to move out. Yes, I know it's all very confusing, but read the other posts on Las Gaunas and it might, just might become clearer!
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| Thirty years old and the Estadio Mundial 82 is ageing well |
So for the start of the 2010-11 season, SD Logroñés found themselves out on the northern edge of town, next to the Rio Ebro at Estadio Mundial 82. They also found themselves in the Tercera after winning the championship of the Regional Preferente in their debut season. Given the number of clubs that have tried to make a go of it in Logroño over the past decade, it's not surprising to learn that Mundial 82 has some form. Both ADF Logroñés and Logroñés CF, under the name of CD Recreación de La Rioja, have also played at the stadium.
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| Great aerial view of well, not a lot really |
As the name suggests, Mundial 82 was built in 1982 as a community stadium using some funds from a legacy package set up as part of the deal that bought the World Cup to Spain. The project saw other stadiums built around the country. There isn't a huge amount to get excited about with the ground for it has a basic, raised cantilevered stand running the length of the north side, but with hard standing around the three other sides of the pitch, Mundial 82 has a capacity of 3,500. This was tested at the end of the 2010-11 season with SD Logroñés participation in the end of season play-offs, however defeat at the hands of Gimnastica Segoviana saw the club remain in the Tercera for another year. A year on and SD Logroñés won the Tercera division and edged out Pena Sport in the play-offs, to earn a place in Segunda B for the first time. Promotion also saw the club move across town and stage their home matches at the Estadio Nuevo Las Gaunas.
Labels: La Rioja, New to Segunda B, Segunda 2B
