el sardinero · Profile

In late 2023 the Campos de Sport de El Sardinero changed its look: every seat was repainted green, some rows were removed and capacity dropped below 22,000, while the word “RACING” was spelled out in the seating of the East Stand. In January 2025 seats were added to the back row of every stand and capacity rose above that figure again. Owned by Santander City Council, the stadium has been the home of Real Racing Club since it opened on 20 August 1988, and since 1997 it has also housed the club’s headquarters.

The old ground of 1913

The name comes from the previous venue, which opened on 16 February 1913 with a local tournament held during Racing’s official presentation. A 30-metre wooden stand went up in 1916, and in 1961 work began on a 72-metre cantilevered stand behind the existing one. In the early 1980s the club sold the ground to the city for 175 million pesetas, and the council and Racing began planning a replacement. The last official match at the old Sardinero was played on 15 May 1988 against Granada and finished 0-0; on 3 June a farewell friendly featured former players. Demolition began on 17 June 1988.

Construction and opening

Work on the new stadium started in early 1987 on undeveloped land about 150 metres west of the old ground, to a design by Juan José Arenas. It was opened by mayor Manuel Huerta, with Emilio Bolado as Racing president, on a day featuring two friendlies. In the first, Racing lost 0-2 to Real Oviedo and Carlos Muñoz Cobo scored the stadium’s first goal; in the second, Real Madrid faced Everton. The design was praised for its evacuation system and for a column-free roof that does not block the view. The seating is split into five upper stands and four lower sections, and the natural grass pitch measures 105 by 68 metres, with a moat along each touchline that separates spectators without affecting sightlines.

Renovations and facilities

Two video scoreboards were installed in 1999. The biggest change came in the summer of 2008: Racing’s sixth-place finish in the 2007-08 Spanish league earned the club its first UEFA Cup berth, and the stadium had to meet European regulations, with 1,200-lux floodlights, a telescopic fireproof players’ tunnel, a press room with at least 50 seats and spaces for disabled spectators. In that 2008-09 UEFA Cup Racing reached the group stage. In 2017 two new video scoreboards, roughly 20 metres long and 4 metres high, were fitted, among the largest in Spanish stadiums.

The Spain national team and rugby

The Spain national team has played at the stadium several times. On 27 March 1991 it lost a friendly 2-4 to Hungary, and on 9 September 1992 it beat England 1-0 with a goal from Fonseca. On 9 October 2004, in qualifying for the 2006 World Cup in Germany, Spain defeated Belgium 2-0 with goals from Luque and Raúl in front of around 20,000 spectators. The most recent match was on 4 June 2008, a 1-0 win over the United States in preparation for that summer’s European Championship. Rugby arrived at El Sardinero on 5 May 2013: in the morning Independiente won promotion in the second leg of the División de Honor B final against Alcobendas, and later Ordizia beat Valladolid 34-17 in the final of the Spanish rugby Copa del Rey.

The Nuevo Sardinero project

In October 2025 Racing and the firm IDOM unveiled the “Nuevo Sardinero” project, which proposes new stands on the east and west sides, an extended roof, a public square of about 26,000 square metres and a capacity of around 27,000, at an estimated maximum cost of 68 million euros. That same month, in October 2025, Santander mayor Gema Igual stated that the city council was not considering an expansion of the stadium for the time being.