Estadio Municipal de Ipurua

Estadio Municipal de Ipurua is a multi-use stadium in Eibar, Spain. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home ground of SD Eibar. The stadium holds 5,250 (all-seated) and was built in 1947. The pitch measures 103x65m.

Ipurua has been the principle football ground in Eibar since 1947. Before this, numerous basic fields were used, before Ipurua became the first enclosed ground. It was inaugurated on 14 September 1947 with a match between SD Eibar and their local rivals CD Elgoibar that was lost 0-2.

Work began on the central main stand in 1948 and this was finally opened in 1951. Because the ground lies at the bottom of a steep valley, the pitch was prone to flooding and poor drainage. Steps were taken to address this and a new drainage system and pitch levelling was completed in 1959. The ground remained relatively basic throughout the 1960’s, but in 1970 the popular preferente end was covered and the roof of the main stand was extended. The first floodlights were also installed in 1970 and they were inaugurated on 14 October 1970 with a match between Real Sociedad and Athletic Bilbao. During the 1980’s Eibar’s fortunes improved on the field and basic improvements were made to the ground. This included the erection of a basic cover at the western end of the ground.

In 1989 SD Eibar reached Segunda A, but Ipurua was probably the most basic stadium in the division. Matters were complicated by the fact that the urban area of Eibar had spread westwards and severely restricted space to the north of the ground. The club received funding in 1998 from the local council and ‘Liga de Professional Fútbol’ and started a project to completely remodel Ipurua. In 1998, the original main stand was demolished and a new, full-length covered stand was constructed. This had a capacity of approximately 2,800, which would be over half of remodelled grounds capacity. In 1999, work started on refurbishing the end stands and finally in 2001, the narrow north terrace was roofed and 4 rows of seats were installed. Work was completed with the installation of a new drainage system and pitch.

Today, Ipurua is a modern, if somewhat compact stadium. It has full UEFA certification and has a fully seated capacity of 5,250.