Estadi de Sarrià, Spain (1923–1997)
RCD Espanyol
Estadi de Sarrià was the home stadium of RCD Espanyol from 1923 to 1997, making it the longest-running stadium in the club’s history to this day.
The construction of the stadium took place at a time when the club was seeking to assert itself as competitive on a national stage, since in previous years since its foundation in 1900, RCD Espanyol alternated between good phases and moments of more difficulty both in sports and in financial and did not have a fixed stadium to host their matches, which meant that the club alternated between the grounds in the region during the seasons. The Estadi de Sarrià was completed in 1923 and required an enormous financial effort for the club, which even went on a tour of South America to raise funds to complete the work. The inauguration of the stadium took place on February 18, 1923, in a friendly match that ended with RCD Espanyol’s 4x1 victory over Unió Sportiva de Sans.
Estadi de Sarrià, in addition to being of enormous importance in the history of RCD Espanyol and its consolidation as an important and relevant club, was also one of the stadiums chosen to host the 1982 World Cup that took place in Spain. There were three matches played at the stadium, the most notable being Italy’s 3x2 victory over a strong Brazil, which ended up eliminating the South American team from the competition, a match that is still known in Brazil as the “Sarrià Disaster”.
In 1997, RCD Espanyol was forced to sell Estadi de Sarrià due to economic problems. The last match played at the stadium took place on June 21, 1997, with a 3x2 victory by RCD Espanyol over Valencia valid for La Liga in the 1996–97 season. On September 20 of the same year, the Estadi de Sarriá was demolished to make way for the construction of a park and residential buildings.
