Head north-west from Alicante, high into the Sierra del Cid and close to the Murcian border you’ll find the town of Elda. The local team, Club Deportivo Eldense was formed in 1921 and it has graced La Segunda on three occasions. However for the majority of its 100 years, the club has played in the Tercera.
Eldense first reached the Tercera in 1943, but things really began to stir in the mid-1950s, with a visit to the end of season play-offs in 1955 and a first Tercera title in 1956. This led to a tortuous play-off round of 14 matches which culminated in an aggregate play-off win over Plus Ultra by 6 goals to three. Eldense joined the Segunda División (Grupo Sur) in the 1956-57 season, finishing 16th where they had to endure more play-offs, this time to avoid relegation. Here they faced Calvo Sotelo and all seemed lost after a 4-1 defeat in Puertollano. However, in the second leg, Eldense racked up seven goals without reply and retained their position in the second division. The following season saw the club finish eighth, but they returned to the Tercera in 1959 when they finished bottom of the Segunda División (Grupo Sur).
A second spell in the second tier followed in 1962-63 and the club recorded it best finish of seventh place. Their frailties were exposed a year later, when Eldense finished rock bottom once again. During Eldense’s first golden period, home matches were played at El Parque, a basic enclosed stadium with four open terraces. El Parque had opened in 1923 and was located on the current Calle Juan de la Cierva. Work had started on the new stadium around 250 metres south-east of El Parque when the club was in its final season in La Segunda.
The new Estadio Municipal staged its first match on 26 April 1964, when Eldense entertained Hércules CF in the final league game of the season. Whilst they didn’t know it at the time, this was the only Segunda match that Eldense would stage at the stadium. It was renamed the Estadio Municipal Pepico Amat in 1994, following the death of the former Eldense goalkeeper and manager. It is a rather deceptive enclosure and looks as though it could hold more than its 8,000 capacity. The dominant feature is the single tiered stand with a shallow cantilevered roof and bright bands of red and blue steps, no seats, just steps. The roof was added in 1988, but everything else looks pretty much as it did back in 1964. Six steps of terracing run around the rest of the ground until you reach the South East corner. Here you’ll find a wedge of more substantial terracing which seems to have been inserted, almost as an afterthought or cut price homage to bigger, more famous spion kops. Everything was given a lick of paint when Eldense was promoted to Segunda B for the 2006-07 season, but they returned to the Tercera after one campaign.
The original Pepico Amat’s days were however numbered. The municipality wanted the land and that of the adjacent annex for a new shopping & leisure complex. Work started in early 2011 on a 4,000 all-seated stadium just 200 metres to the south of the existing ground. The €4.5m cost would be partly funded by the Valencian Government. Progress was slow, but finally, Eldense played their last game at the Pepico Amat on 26 August 2012 when they drew 0-0 with Orihuela. After much delay, and a home match played a few miles to the south west at the Municipal de Monòver, Eldense finally got to inaugurate the Estadio Nuevo Pepico Amat on 30 September 2012. The home side got off to a winning start with a 1-0 victory over CF Borriol in front of 2,000 fans.
The new stadium features a raised stand on the west side, which is covered by a cantilevered barrel-vaulted roof. Three open banks of red & blue seats complete the enclosure which featured an artificial pitch. The municipally-owned stadium also houses training facilities for mixed martial arts and gymnastics. Eldense won promotion back to Segunda B on 21 June 2014 with a 2-1 aggregate victory over Formentera in the play-offs. Following promotion to Segunda B, the stadium had its first sell-out crowd when Hercules CF paid a visit on 24 August 2014. Eldense’s stay in Segunda B ended after three seasons, and included a 12-0 defeat away to Barcelona B. The coach and four players were investigated for match fixing, but no charges were ever brought to book. As for the old Pepico Amat, well that’s still standing. The shopping & leisure complex was never built and the old stadium lays idle for much of the time.
Following promotion to the Segunda RFEF in the summer of 2021, Eldense was purchased by local telecommunications businessman, Pascual Pérez. As sole shareholder, Pérez invested heavily in the squad and drew up ambitious plans for a new stadium. Results on the pitch were immediate, with successive promotions to Primera RFEF, and after an absence of 59 years, La Segunda. The return to La Segunda led to the artificial surface being replaced with natural turf and a temporary stand erected behind the open east side, raising the capacity to 5,776.
CD Eldense Official Website : http://www.cdeldense.es/
La Futbolteca club history : http://lafutbolteca.com/tag/cd-eldense/
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