The Estadio Nacional Complutense (or Complutense National Stadium in English), is a
rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...
stadium in the
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
capital
Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...
and located on the main campus of the
Complutense University of Madrid
The Complutense University of Madrid ( es, Universidad Complutense de Madrid; UCM, links=no, ''Universidad de Madrid'', ''Universidad Central de Madrid''; la, Universitas Complutensis Matritensis, links=no) is a public research university loc ...
. The stadium is commonly used by the
Spanish national rugby union team who competes in the
European Nations Cup European Nations Cup may refer to:
*UEFA European Championship, formerly known as European Nations' Cup
* Europcar Cup, a European Tour golf tournament
* European Nations Cup (golf), a European Ladies Tour golf tournament
* European Nations Cup (fi ...
. It is also home to
Olympus Rugby XV Madrid,
CD Arquitectura and
CR Cisneros.
History
The plans for the construction of the
University City ( es, Ciudad Universitaria), and thus also of rugby stadium, began on 17 May 1927, when the then King
Alfonso XIII
Alfonso XIII (17 May 1886 – 28 February 1941), also known as El Africano or the African, was King of Spain from 17 May 1886 to 14 April 1931, when the Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed. He was a monarch from birth as his father, Alf ...
awarded the construction contract. The official architects of the venue were
Luis Lacasa Navarro,
Javier Barroso and the famous
Civil engineer Eduardo Torroja.
Historia de Madrid Crecimiento urbano (in Spanish)
/ref> The opening ceremony of the sports facilities and the stadium was on 12 October 1943, on the Spanish national holiday.
Originally, the stadium was built for university sports, but in 1954 the Spanish national rugby union team used the stadium for a home match against Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
, Spain won 23-0. Following the high number of spectators, the stadium was made the home stadium for the men's rugby team, hosting all home matches in the European Nations Cup European Nations Cup may refer to:
*UEFA European Championship, formerly known as European Nations' Cup
* Europcar Cup, a European Tour golf tournament
* European Nations Cup (golf), a European Ladies Tour golf tournament
* European Nations Cup (fi ...
and any friendly's that occur during the Mid-year rugby union tests or the End-of-year rugby union tests.
Gallery
File:EspPorRaguebi.JPG, A phase of a rugby union match between Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
and Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
.
File:España-alemania2.JPG, A line out between Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
and Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
.
See also
* Rugby union in Spain
Rugby union is a growing team sport in Spain. As of 2019, there were 37,241 registered rugby union players in Spain, playing for 332 clubs in various divisions.
The sport's governing body in Spain, the Spanish Rugby Federation (Spanish: Federacià ...
* Spanish Rugby Federation
The Spanish Rugby Federation ( es, Federación Española de Rugby) is the governing body for the sport of rugby union in Spain.
The Spanish Rugby Federation was founded in 1923, and joined the International Rugby Football Board, later known as th ...
References
{{reflist
Estadio Nacional Complutense
Rugby union stadiums in Spain
Sports venues completed in 1943
Sports venues in Madrid
Buildings and structures in Ciudad Universitaria neighborhood, Madrid