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| Location | San Sebastián,Gipuzkoa,Spain |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 43°18′5″N1°58′25″W / 43.30139°N 1.97361°W /43.30139; -1.97361 |
| Public transit | Anoeta |
| Owner | City Council |
| Operator | City Council |
| Capacity | 39,313[3] |
| Record attendance | 39,314 (Union Bordeaux Bègles vsStade Rochelais; French rugby union championshipTop 14 semi-final ; 10 June 2023)[4] |
| Field size | 105 metres (115 yd) x 68 metres (74 yd) |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 1991 |
| Opened | 1993 |
| Renovated | 2017–2019 |
| Construction cost | Pta3 billion[1][2] €21 million |
| Tenants | |
| Real Sociedad (1993–present) Athletic Bilbao (2013) | |
Anoeta Stadium (Spanish:Estadio de Anoeta), currently known as theReale Arena for sponsorship purposes,[5] is afootball stadium inSan Sebastián,Basque Country,Spain that was inaugurated in 1993.
The stadium lies at theAnoeta Sports Complex, and is mostly used forfootball matches whereLa Liga sideReal Sociedad contest their home games. The total seating capacity of the stadium, which was originally 32,000,[6] was restricted to around 26,800[7] due to redevelopment works; its capacity for the September 2019 completion has been quoted as 39,313 seats[3] (with the possibility of expanding to 42,300 if it were necessary),[8] making it the11th-largest stadium in Spain and the 2nd-largest in theBasque Country.
It is one of the potential host cities for the2030 FIFA World Cup.
It is the third home stadium of Real Sociedad preceded byOndarreta (1909–1913), andAtocha (1913–1993). The external concourse area features abust of the lateAlberto Ormaetxea, the club's manager during their successful early 1980s period.[9]
Real Sociedad'sBasque rivals,Athletic Bilbao, were also permitted to use Anoeta for their first home game of the2013–14 La Liga season, as their own new ground (San Mamés) was still under construction.[10][11][12] Four of theunofficial Basque Country team's friendly fixtures have been held at the stadium (1993, 1998, 2004, 2012).[13]
In recent years, it has also been used for concerts, and for occasionalHeineken Cuprugby union fixtures by nearbyTop 14 clubBiarritz Olympique (based in France but very near to San Sebastian). Since the2009–10 Top 14 season, both Biarritz and fellowPays Basque clubAviron Bayonnais took home matches to the Anoeta, which is the closest large stadium to their towns.
When the2019–20 UEFA Women's Champions League later stages were held in theBasque Country, Anoeta hosted thefinal.
Anoeta's initial construction costs were said to be 3 billionpesetas (equivalent to around €21 million at the time).[1] The stadium was officially opened on 13 August 1993 with afriendly between Real Sociedad andReal Madrid. The first goal was scored byTxuriurdin forwardLoren, and the match finished 2–2.[14][15]
In 2004,José Luis Astiazarán, then the president of Real Sociedad, launched a project calledGipuzkoarena.[16] Planned to be completed in 2007, it was intended to increase the stadium's capacity to 42,000, which would include the removal of the athletics track - over the years, fans were never happy with the stadium in its original configuration due to the track causing a distance between the stands and the field itself,[17] resulting in a "cold" atmosphere during matches.[18][19] The project also intended to construct a hotel and shops, among other items. This proposal was soon rejected by the city council and left behind.[20]
Towards the end of 2007,Iñaki Badiola, candidate for the presidency of Real Sociedad, proposed that the club buy the stadium.[21] This was also soon rejected by the city council.[22] In 2008, Badiola, by now the president, made another two proposals for the stadium,[23] one of them similar to Gipuzkoarena. These proposals were to be studied by the city council, but after 20 December Badiola was no longer the club's president. Later, his successor,Jokin Aperribay, launched a new attempt to refurbish the stadium.
In 2015 the club announced that it would begin reforms on Anoeta in 2016, enlarging the stadium as well as removing the track around the field.[24][25] Construction eventually began in May 2017. When completed in October 2019, the remodelled arena would hold around 42,300 spectators. The €47 million cost of the project was borne between Real Sociedad (€33m), theBasque Government (€10m) and theGipuzkoa Provincial Council (€4m).[8] the architect is Izaskun Larzabal,[26][27] who also designed many of the facilities at the club'sZubieta training complex.[28][29][30] After the project completion, the total cost announced including some new improvements that would take place until 2020 was of €78,6 million.[31]
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Depending on any issues and delays encountered, it was reported that the construction work could lead to Real Sociedad playing some matches inBilbao or elsewhere at some point during the period.[32]
The first phase of reconstruction (involving the removal of the track and insertion of lower rows of seats on the side stands, and a completely new south end stand)[33] concluded just after the start of the2018–19 La Liga season, requiring the club to play their first three fixtures away from home, before hostingFC Barcelona on the fourth matchday (15 September 2018).[34] Over 3,000 additional members were admitted to the club due to the increase in capacity offered by the remodelled stadium.[35] The second phase of work on the new north end stand was expected to be completed over the course of that season.
Real Sociedad played away from home for each of the first three rounds of the2019–20 La Liga campaign to allow the stadium rebuild to move to completion. It was announced that the first match at Anoeta – or theReale Arena to use its new sponsored title – with all seats in place, a capacity quoted as 39,500 (though with work still ongoing in other areas of the construction)[3][17] would be between the home side andAtlético Madrid on Saturday 14 September 2019, almost exactly a year after the first new stand was opened. Real won 2–0, with the official attendance given as 33,374,[36] greater than the old maximum for Anoeta (and that of Atoxta) and therefore a club record, but some way short of the new capacity. Five months later, a Basque derby against Athletic Bilbao, a 2–1 win for the home side, set a new record of 36,730.[37]
The reforms have transformed the atmosphere inside the stadium, with the Aitor Zabaleta singing section acting as the main focal point.[38][39]
Following the reconstruction, the stadium was awarded the 2020 WorldPrix Versailles award in the Sports category.[40]
Train:Anoeta station, line E2,Euskotren Trena (San Sebastián Metro).
Bus: Line 17, Line 24 Line 28, Line 26, Line 37, and night line B4.
Media related toAnoeta stadium at Wikimedia Commons| Preceded by | UEFA Women's Champions League Final venue 2020 | Succeeded by |
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