At least Real Valladolid had something to cheer about after a 2013-14 season to forget. Following the relegation of the first team from La Primera, their reserve side won promotion to Segunda B. Formed in 1942 following the union of Club Deportivo Delicias and Recreativo Europa, the newly monikered Recreativo Europa Delicias remained an affiliated club until 1973, when it became Real Valladolid’s official reserve side and was renamed Real Valladolid Promesas, a name they returned to in 2019. Their current home is the Ciudad Deportiva del Real Valladolid, or more commonly known as the Anexo el José Zorrilla, but important matches, such as play-offs, are occasionally switched a few yards eastwards to the club’s main stadium.
Real Valladolid Promesas has graced Segunda B before, most notably in the 1990’s when they clocked up 9 successive seasons in Spain’s third tier. They almost returned by default in 2012 after CD Guijuelo announced that they would be unable to meet the leagues financial requirements leading up to the start of the 2012-13 season. Rumours suggested that the RFEF had turned to Real Valladolid, a club who at least had some pedigree at this level. However, the RFEF are not known for their speed of thought & action, so with a day to go to the start of the 2012-13 season, nobody knew if Guijuelo’s place was up for grabs or whether reports of their demise had been greatly exaggerated. In the end, the RFEF cut CD Guijuelo some slack, and they eventually scraped together enough money to start the 2012-13 season, albeit a week or so late, and haven’t looked back since. Real Valladolid Promesas continued in the Tercera, where they won the title in 2013-14 and then promotion after disposing of Galicians UD Somozas in the play-offs.
The Ciudad Deportiva is situated next the the club’s stadium. It opened in 1988, and consists of three pitches and a central hub which also incorporates the centre’s only supporter accommodation. Promesas did play the majority of their fixtures on the artificial pitch that is furthest west from the Estadio José Zorrilla, but now play on the grass pitch nearest the stadium. These two grass playing surfaces are divided by a the main hub at the Ciudad Deportiva. This is a simple prism-shaped building which incorporates the main changing facilities, a cafeteria and two identical raised stands, which were each made up of concrete bench seating. In 2019, the stand gained a roof, which straddles both sides, and was decked out with 750 purple & white seats with on each side.
Estadios de España 