Amute Stadium (Estadio de Amute in Spanish) was the football stadium of

Real Unión Real Unión Club, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in Irun, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country, in the province of Gipuzkoa, near the border with France. Founded on 15 May 1915 it currently plays in Primera División RFEF ...

, a main team in Spanish football before the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The club was formed in 1915 following the merger of Irún Sporting Club and Racing Club de Irún. Irún Sporting Club played at the Campo de Amute, which was situated just to the north of town in the village of

Hondarribia Hondarribia ( eu, Hondarribia; es, Fuenterrabía; french: Fontarrabie) is a town situated on the west shore of Bidasoa river's mouth, in Gipuzkoa, in Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country, Spain. The border town is situated on a ...

, not far from the current site of Hondarribia's airport. The ground opened on 2 January 1910 and hosted the

1915 Copa del Rey Final The 1915 Copa del Rey Final was the 15th final of the Spanish cup competition, the Copa del Rey. The final was played at Estadio de Amute in Irun on 2 May 1915. The match was won by Athletic Bilbao, who beat RCD Espanyol, RCD Español 5–0. The s ...

when

Athletic Bilbao Athletic Club ( eu, Bilboko Athletic Kluba; es, Athletic Club de Bilbao), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao or just Athletic, is a professional Association football, football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Basque Country (autonomous com ...

defeated

RCD Español Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona (; "Royal Spanish Sports Club of Barcelona"), commonly known as Espanyol, is a professional sports club based in Barcelona, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of the Spanish football league sy ...

with 5-0. Upon forming, Real Unión used Irún Sporting’s Campo de Amute. In 1926, at the peak of their powers,

moved to the other side of Irun and their current

Stadium Gal Stadium Gal is a football stadium in Irun, Gipuzkoa, Basque Country, Spain. It is owned by Real Unión, currently in Segunda División B. The capacity of the stadium is 5,500 spectators. The stadium is located on the left bank of the Bidasoa ri ...

. It was inaugurated 19 September with a match against

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. Founded ...

. There was a strong Anglo influence at the club in the early years, with England great

Steve Bloomer Stephen Bloomer (20 January 1874 – 16 April 1938) was an England international footballer and manager who played for Derby County – becoming their record goalscorer – and Middlesbrough. The anthem " Steve Bloomer's Watchin'" is played at ...

, managing the club for several years in the 1920s. The original structure could have easily passed itself off as an English, that was until the local municipality installed a cycle track in 1950. The Anglo influence may be the reason the title “stadium” is used rather than estadio or campo. That or a Basque refusal to use castellano.

References

{{Real Unión Irun Real Unión Defunct football venues in Spain Sports venues completed in 1910