Estadio José Zorrilla () is a municipally-owned football stadium in
Valladolid
Valladolid ( ; ) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and ''de facto'' capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the pr ...
, Spain. The capacity of the stadium is 27,618 seats, making it the 22nd-largest stadium in Spain and the largest in
Castile and León
Castile and León is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in northwestern Spain. Castile and León is the largest autonomous community in Spain by area, covering 94,222 km2. It is, however, sparsely populated, with a pop ...
.
History
The stadium was built in 1982 and is named after poet
José Zorrilla
José Zorrilla y Moral () was a Spanish poet and dramatist, who became National Laureate.
Biography
Zorrilla was born in Valladolid to a magistrate in whom Ferdinand VII placed special confidence. He was educated by the Jesuits at the Real Sem ...
(1817–1893). Prior to this, they played in the old
Estadio José Zorrilla es:Estadio is the spanish language word for Stadium
A stadium (: stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage completely or partially surrounded by a tiered s ...
.
The first match to be played at the stadium was a Spanish Liga match 20 February 1982 between
Real Valladolid
Real Valladolid Club de Fútbol, S.A.D., or simply Real Valladolid (), is a Spanish professional List of football clubs in Spain, football club based in Valladolid, Castile and León that will compete from the 2025–26 season in the .
The club ...
and
Athletic Bilbao
Athletic Club (; ), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao (), or simply Athletic, is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Southern Basque Country, Basque Country, Spain. They are known ...
which ended in a 1–0 victory for Valladolid, the only goal being scored in the 84th minute by Jorge Alonso. The
1982 Copa del Rey Final was played at the stadium on 13 April, with
Real Madrid
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...
defeating
Sporting de Gijón
Real Sporting de Gijón, S.A.D. (), commonly known as Real Sporting, Sporting Gijón, or simply Sporting is a Spanish professional association football, football club from Gijón, Principality of Asturias. Founded on 1 July 1905, it plays in the ...
2–1.
During the
1982 FIFA World Cup
The 1982 FIFA World Cup was the 12th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in Spain from 13 June to 11 July 1982. The tournament was won by Italy national footbal ...
, three Group D matches (Czechoslovakia–Kuwait, France–Kuwait and France–Czechoslovakia) were played at the Estadio Zorrilla.
Pop superstar
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...
performed a sold-out show on September 6, 1997, during his
HIStory World Tour
The ''HIS''tory World Tour was the third and final worldwide solo concert tour by American singer and songwriter Michael Jackson, covering Europe, Asia, Oceania, Africa and North America. The tour included a total of 82 concerts spanning the gl ...
and concluded his European leg of the tour.
On 3 June 1997, the
Ayuntamiento de Valladolid and Real Valladolid agreed on a new 40-year lease, which also envisioned a potential use by the football club of "hospitality, entertainment and commercial activities" near the stadium, giving way years later to the so-called "Valladolid Arena" project.
The construction of a shopping mall was thus given green light in 2008 but the project was suspended by the
High Court of Justice of Castile and León
The High Court of Justice of Castile and León (), is the superior and appellate court of the Judiciary of Spain in the territory of the autonomous community of Castile and León, notwithstanding its original jurisdiction in some cases, and the ...
in 2012.
In 2016, the stadium hosted the
Copa del Rey de Rugby
The Copa del Rey de Rugby (previously known as Campeonato de España de Rugby) is the national rugby cup of Spain. The competition was founded in 1926 and, currently is the second most important competition after the División de Honor de Rugby.
A ...
final between
SilverStorm El Salvador and
VRAC Entrepinares. 26,500 spectators attended to the game beating the record of attendance to a
rugby union
Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...
match in Spain.
The venue underwent refurbishing works in 2019, removing the dry
moat
A moat is a deep, broad ditch dug around a castle, fortification, building, or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. Moats can be dry or filled with water. In some places, moats evolved into more extensive water d ...
and adding three new rows of seats (increasing the capacity to 26,451).
1982 FIFA World Cup
The stadium was one of the venues of the
1982 FIFA World Cup
The 1982 FIFA World Cup was the 12th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in Spain from 13 June to 11 July 1982. The tournament was won by Italy national footbal ...
, and held the following matches:
Rugby union
The stadium also hosts the
national team in rugby union, most recently in the 2024 autumn international against
2023 Rugby World Cup
The 2023 Rugby World Cup () was the tenth men's Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national rugby union teams. It took place in France from 8 September to 28 October 2023 in nine venues across the country. The opening game ...
quarter finalist
Fiji
Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...
, losing 19–33.
See also
*
List of football stadiums in Spain
*
Lists of stadiums
The following are lists of stadiums throughout the world. Note that horse racing and motorsport venues are not included at some pages, because those are not stadiums but sports venues.
Combined lists
*List of stadiums by capacity
* List of c ...
References
External links
Estadio José Zorrillaat Estadios de Espana
Football venues in Castile and León
Real Valladolid
Multi-purpose stadiums in Spain
1982 establishments in Spain
Sports venues completed in 1982
Sports venues in Valladolid
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