L’Hospitalet de Llobregat – Estadi Municipal de Futbol de L’Hospitalet

Article Updated: 20/04/2026

At the start of the 20th Century, Barcelona began an urban sprawl that would see it swallow up many of its outlying towns and villages. One such small town to the southwest of Barcelona was L’Hospitalet de Llobregat. In 1900, the town had a population of under 5,000, but as its population grew, so did the number of small football clubs looking to make their mark in the regional leagues. By 1950, L’Hospitalet de Llobregat had attained city status and had a population of over 70,000. However, none of its assorted clubs had managed to make an impression in the Tercera. Then, in July 1957, three teams, UD Llobregat, CD Santa Eulalia & CF Hércules de Hospitalet, decided to merge and form Centre d’Esports L’Hospitalet.

Campo Municipal de Deportes Generalísimo Franco pictured in the 1960s.

Home for the first season was CF Hércules de Hospitalet’s Camp de Torre Melina, but the local municipality had promised the fledgling club a new stadium and on 15 May 1958, the Campo Municipal de Deportes Generalísimo Franco was inaugurated with a friendly against Barcelona. Situated just to the east of the city, the stadium had a capacity of 10,000 spread over three open terraces and a larger tribuna on the west side. By 1960, the stadium featured four floodlight pylons, which was extremely unusual in the Tercera at that point in time. Unsurprisingly, the stadium was renamed the Camp Municipal d’Esports in the mid-1970s, following Franco’s death.

Hospitalet310311a — Camp Municipal d’Esports in the late 1980s

After a sluggish first season in the Tercera, the team started to click, and a series of top-five finishes culminated in a successful 1962-63 season. A second-place finish in the league was followed by progress in the playoffs against Alcoyano and Atletico Malagueño. In the final, L’Hospitalet beat Real Jaén 3-2 on aggregate, playing their home leg at Barcelona’s Les Corts stadium. The club’s stay in La Segunda lasted just three seasons, with a best finish in 1964-65 of 11th in Group I of the regionalised second tier. Relegation followed in the 1965-66 season, and the club dropped to the Catalan Regional league a year later. L’Hospitalet remained in the regional league for the next ten years, returning to the Tercera for two seasons in 1978, and after a brief return to the regional league, two promotions in quick succession saw the club reach Segunda B for the 1982-83 season. Except for a single season back in the Tercera for the 1986-87 season, L’Hospitalet dropped anchor in Segunda B, clocking up 15 seasons in the third tier, before time was called on the Camp Municipal d’Esports. The final fixture at the ground was staged on 7 March 1999 and saw L’Hospitalet beat Ontinyent by a goal to nil.

Hospitalet160821o — Take me out to the Ball Park… but change it into a football ground

When L’Hospitalet left the Campo Municipal, they headed to the south of the city to a stadium built for the 1992 Olympics, but not to stage matches for the football tournament. You see, before 1999, this was a baseball stadium, designed by Spanish architect Mario Correa. This explains the L-shaped main stand, which, in its original configuration, stood in the classic position for a ballpark, directly behind the home plate. A new layout was required to stage football, and this saw an artificial pitch installed and open banks of seats added to complete the traditional square shape. L’Hospitalet’s first match at the new stadium was a 2-0 victory over CF Gavá on 20 March 1999.

Hospitalet200807a — Estadi Municipal de L’Hospitalet pictured in 2006

When you first set eyes on the Estadi Municipal de L’Hospitalet, the most common reaction is “Did the money run out?”, as it has the hallmark of an over-ambitious project that stopped mid-development when the coffers ran dry. The municipality has to be congratulated on this particular recycling project, for whilst it is another example of an Olympic facility not quite working, it is in use throughout the week. There is also no denying the fact that it is a great improvement on L’Hospitalet’s previous home. The main feature is the twin-decked L-shaped stand in the southwest corner of the stadium. The stand was extended northwards as part of its transition to a football ground. From the outside, you can see that the four northernmost spans of the cantilevered roof are a slightly lighter shade than the original construction. The remainder of the stadium consists of an uncovered ring of seven rows of seats that runs almost continuously around the pitch, stopping in the southeast corner, where an electronic scoreboard has taken up residence. With a capacity of 6,740, the stadium rarely maxes out. The stadium also hosted matches in the 2020 Women’s Rugby World Cup.

Hospitalet110821a — The configuration for football is more conventional, but only just.

In 2009, RCD Espanyol opened its new stadium a few kilometres to the southwest of the city centre, no doubt attracted by the city’s burgeoning population of nearly 300,000. Initially, this seemed to revitalise L’Hospitalet, with the club claiming its first Segunda B title in 2012-13. In the playoffs, L’Hospitalet lost in the champions group to CD Tenerife before succumbing to SD Eibar in the second phase. There followed a second-place finish a year later, but failure to navigate the playoffs again, this time losing in the final to CD Leganés, put an end to hopes of a return to La Segunda, and the club dropped to the Tercera in 2017. There was a brief return to Segunda B in the 2020-21 season, but the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the schedule, and following the reorganisation of the Spanish football pyramid, the club dropped to the Tercera Federación, or fifth tier.