Logroño is a city with a population of 150,000 and ever since its most successful club, Club Deportivo Logroñés, got into financial trouble in the early 2000s, a number of teams have vied to attain the status of the city’s premier club. A couple, Asociación Deportiva Fundación Logroñés and Logroñés Club de Fútbol arrived on the scene, only to quickly depart. Two clubs however, Unión Deportiva Logroñés & Sociedad Deportiva Logorñés have achieved a degree of permanence and relative success.
Sociedad Deportiva Logroñés was established as a fan-based organisation in June 2009, a matter of weeks before CD Logroñés was formally dissolved. They played their first matches at the Estadio Las Gaunas, which had opened in 2002 and was around 200 metres south of the original Campo de Las Gaunas. At the end of their first season however, the municipal council changed the terms of the tenancy for the stadium, and whilst UD Logroñés, got to stay, SD Logroñés had to move out. Yes, I know it’s all very confusing, but read the other posts on Las Gaunas and it might, just might, become clearer!
So for the start of the 2010-11 season, SD Logroñés found themselves out on the eastern edge of town, next to the Rio Ebro at the Estadio Mundial 82. They also found themselves in the Tercera after winning the championship of the Regional Preferente in their debut season. Given the number of clubs that have tried to make a go of it in Logroño over the past decade or so, it’s not surprising to learn that Mundial 82 has some form. Both ADF Logroñés and Logroñés CF (under the name of Club Deportivo Recreación de La Rioja) also played at the stadium.
As the name suggests, Mundial 82 was built in 1982 as a community stadium using funds from a legacy package set up as part of the deal that brought the World Cup to Spain. It is owned by the Ayuntamiento de Logroño and managed by the Federación Riojana de Fútbol. To be honest, there isn’t a huge amount to get excited about with the ground. It features a full-length, raised cantilevered stand on the northern side, and with hard standing around the three other sides of the pitch, has a capacity of 3,500. This was tested at the end of the 2010-11 season with SD Logroñés participation in the end of season play-offs, however defeat at the hands of Gimnastica Segoviana saw the club remain in the Tercera for another year. A year on and SD Logroñés won the Tercera division and edged out Pena Sport in the play-offs, to earn a place in Segunda B for the first time. The club’s stay in the third tier lasted for 2 seasons and saw home matches back at the Estadio Las Gaunas, before relegation to the Tercera in 2014, saw a return to Mundial 82. SD Logroñés returned to Segunda B in 2020, following a play-off victory over local rivals CD Varea. Their good form continued, and following the reorganisation of the Spanish league system at the end of the 2020-21 season, SD Logroñés were promoted to the new third tier, the Primera División RFEF Grupo 1.
SD Logroñes is one of the higher profile fan-owned clubs in Spain. This is a growing trend, as fans tired with the financial mismanagement and arrogance of club owners, have taken control of, or set up a rival to, the original outfit. The fans of SD Logroñés have yet to reach the heights of attained by CD Logroñés, but I’m sure that their determination and love for the club, will ensure they do not experience the lows either.
Estadios de España 