Detail

Built in 1967 to replace the inadequate San Juan Stadium which was sold off to developers, the original 25,000 capacity Estadio El Sadar’s inaugral game was held on the 2nd of September between Zaragoza and Portuguese club Vitoria de Setúbal which resulted in a 1-1 draw. The day after this, Osasuna outplayed the Portuguese side as well, winning their first game at the stadium 3-0 which formed part of a three-way tournament to celebrate the opening. Named after the river El Sadar between 1967 – 2005 and then again from 2011, following a 6 year period of sponsorship from the Government of Navarre who opted to call it Reyno de Navarra which is a medieval term for “Kingdom”. With an opening seating capacity of only 7,000, redevelopment of the stands was inevitable and it has occurred in drips and drabs in recent seasons starting with the main stand being remodelled in 1989 followed by a conversion to all seating, which took the official capacity down by 5,000. Soon, a club shop, office space, scoreboard and boardroom opened in 1999, in addition to two restaurants a year later to increase the commercial viability of the ground. Using the smaller additions to the stadium as a springboard, the club presented their most ambitious plans to date with in December 2006 with the board proposing a new façade for the whole of the stadium in addition to the final pieces of the commercial jigsaw; VIP boxes, and retail space. Boosted by revenue from the council for the renaming of the stadium under the Reyno de Navarra brand to promote tourism to the area the redevelopment was largely a success with a additional income generated through the lease of land to offices, restaurants and shops. With Osasuna establishing themselves as as Primera Division regulars, it’s only a matter of time before they mount an assault on Europa League places, although they are a long way of this just yet.

WALKING Follow the avenue de Zaragoza southwards and exit left onto Calle Labiano which crosses onto Plaza Gongora which will take you to the stadium. 30-35 minutes should be a reasonable amount of time. PUBLIC TRANSPORT Train There city is too small to warrant taking a dedicated train to the ground but if you are travelling from out of town then the station is generally referred to as Pamplona/Irunya station and is located in the North West of the city centre just beyond Rio Arga river, approximately 4km from the stadium el Sadar. Bus Bus number 11 is your best bet if your starting point is central. Departing from Plaza Pincipe de Viana, leaving every 30 minutes and taking no more than 20 minutes, it really is a convenient mode of transport. Note: Go in the direction of Cordevilla or Parque Comercial Galaria and get off at Sadar stop which is unsurprisngly right outside the stadium itself. Follow the fans! If you are coming from the railway station then you can also take bus number 16 which should take you to Zaragoza stop 84 which is around 5-10 minutes walk from the ground. DRIVING Impossible to give catch all directions, with the cloest thing being giving you Estadio El Sadar’s address for the Satnav which is: Calle Sadar s/n, 31006 Pamplona. AIRPORTS AND FLYING Pamplona has a small domestic airport (Pamplona-Noain) which is connected to the rest of Spain (Barcelona, Madrid etc) via Iberia airline, with the closet International airport unfortunately being either Bilbao (156 km), Zaragoza (170 km), or even Biarritz in France (115 km). Car rental advised if making the journey!