Estadio Atotxa, Spain (1913–1999)
Real Sociedad de Fútbol
The Estadio Atotxa was the stadium where the Spanish club Real Sociedad de Fútbol hosted their matches between 1913 and 1993, for a total period of 80 years. Although it was built a few years after the club was founded (Real Sociedad was officially founded in 1909), Estadio Atotxa was the second stadium of Real Sociedad, having been preceded by Ondaretta in the early years of its history.
The origin of Estadio Atotxa is related to a period of reconfiguration of football in Spain. After a phase of disputes and divisions between the clubs for the control of the football format, in 1913 the Spanish Football Federation was founded, as a gesture of conciliation and with the intention of organizing the national championships in a more regular and constant manner. After this change, Real Sociedade realized that a period was beginning in which the club would dispute more national championships and consequently more matches against high level clubs. With the intention of adapting to this new context, the club organized itself to build a new stadium that would make it possible to offer a better infrastructure to both players and fans. Thus, on October 4, 1913 the Estadio Atotxa opened in a match against its biggest rival Athletic Club de Bilbao, which ended in a 3–3 draw.
During the 80 years that it existed, Estadio Atotxa was part of the most glorious periods of Real Sociedad. It was there that the club won the two La Liga of 1980–81 and 1981–82, the Spanish Super Cup of 1982 and the Copa del Rey of 1987.
The Atotxa Stadium was known for its skimpy appearance, with the steep stands and very close to the goal, which provided an intimidating atmosphere against its opponents. The terrain on which the stadium was located was so narrow that the field had to adapt to its dimensions, which made it unusually shaped like a trapezoid instead of a rectangle, with a difference of 1.5m on one side to the other. The tallest building in San Sebastian, the Torre de Atotxa, was next to the stadium and generated a striking landscape behind one of the goal stands.
During the 1980s, Estadio Atotxa had an audience capacity of 26,700 people. However, in a period of early expansion and modernization of football, Real Sociedade understood that it was necessary to have a stadium with greater infrastructure and capacity for the public, and saw the expansion of the Atotxa Stadium as impossible, since there was no space for that in your surroundings. With that, it was decided that the club would move to the new Anoeta Stadium from 1993. The last official match played at the Atotxa Stadium took place on June 13, 1993, with a 3–1 win against Club Deportivo Tenerife. A few days later on June 22, Real Sociedad still played a farewell match against the Basque Country National Football Team.
In 1999, the Estadio Atotxa was demolished to build a residential complex.
