Ipurua Municipal Stadium
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| Location | Eibar, Spain |
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| Coordinates | 43°10′54.14″N 2°28′32.89″W / 43.1817056°N 2.4758028°W |
| Owner | Eibar City Council |
| Operator | Eibar City Council |
| Capacity | 6,285 |
| Record attendance | 6,065 (Eibar v Córdoba, 23 May 2015)[1] |
| Field size | 103 metres (113 yd) x 65 metres (71 yd) |
| Opened | 1947 |
| Tenants | |
| SD Eibar | |
Ipurua is a multi-use stadium in Eibar, Spain. It is used mostly for football matches and is the home ground of SD Eibar. The stadium holds 6,285 (all-seated) and was built in 1947. The pitch measures 103 x 65 m.[2]
Ipurua has been the principal football ground in Eibar since 1947. Numerous simple fields were used before Ipurua became the first enclosed ground. It was inaugurated on 14 September 1947 with a match between SD Eibar and their local rivals CD Elgoibar that was lost 0-2.
History
Work began on the central main stand in 1948 and this was finally opened in 1951. Because the ground lies at the bottom of a steep valley, the pitch was prone to flooding and poor drainage. Steps were taken to address this and a new drainage system and pitch levelling was completed in 1959. The ground remained relatively basic throughout the 1960s, but in 1970 the popular preferente end was covered and the roof of the main stand was extended. The first floodlights were also installed in 1970 and they were inaugurated on 14 October 1970 with a match between Real Sociedad and Athletic Bilbao. During the 1980s Eibar’s fortunes improved on the field and basic improvements were made to the ground. This included the erection of a basic cover at the western end of the ground.
In 1989 SD Eibar reached Segunda A, but Ipurua was probably the most basic stadium in the division. Matters were complicated by the fact that the urban area of Eibar had spread westwards and severely restricted space to the north of the ground. The club received funding in 1998 from the local council and Liga de Fútbol Profesional and started a project to completely remodel Ipurua. In 1998, the original main stand was demolished and a new, full-length covered stand was constructed. This had a capacity of approximately 2,800, which would be over half of remodelled grounds capacity. In 1999, work started on refurbishing the end stands and in 2001, the narrow north terrace was roofed and 4 rows of seats were installed. Work was completed with the installation of a new drainage system and pitch.
In 2014, following SD Eibar's promotion to La Liga, a project to redevelop the north stand and bring the stadium's capacity up to more than 6,000 seats was approved by the local council.[3] The fully completed stand was inaugurated on 30 August 2015, for a league match played between the hosts SD Eibar and neighbouring Basque club Athletic Bilbao.[4][5]
Ipurua is a modern, if somewhat compact stadium. It has full UEFA certification and has a fully seated capacity of 6,285.
External links
References
- ^ http://www.lfp.es/directo/temporada-2014-2015/liga-bbva/38/eibar_cordoba Eibar-Córdoba boxscore at LFP.es]
- ^ "IPURUA Y ATXABALPE". SD Eibar. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
- ^ El ayuntamiento de Eibar da luz verde a la ampliación de Ipurua (Marca, 13/11/2014 -Spanish-)
- ^ La nueva tribuna norte de Ipurúa se estrenará en el Eibar-Athletic (Marca, 27/08/2015 -Spanish-)
- ^ Los abonados de la Tribuna Norte han empezado a elegir su localidad en Ipurua (El Diario Vasco, 01/09/2015 -Spanish-)
