Nou Estadi · Profile

The Nou Estadi opened on 1 February 1972 with a friendly between Gimnàstic de Tarragona and FC Barcelona. Barcelona won 1-0 through a goal by Martí Filosia, the first ever scored at the new ground. It is the home of Nàstic, located on the Partida Budallera in the Vall de l’Arrabassada area, east of Tarragona city centre. The stadium is owned by Tarragona City Council and holds 14,591 spectators.

The move from Avinguda de Catalunya

From 1922 to 1972 Gimnàstic played at the Avinguda de Catalunya ground, which held around 10,000 people and had little room to grow. The board led by president José Luis Calderón chose to move the club to land on the Partida Budallera, then a largely undeveloped area near the sea. Work began in November 1970 to a design by architect Josep Maria Garreta, with construction firm Carcolé Hermanos building it. The main stand was planned as a two-tier terrace under a roof held up by reinforced concrete ribs and steel tie rods, with the Mediterranean as a backdrop.

The first matches

Twelve days after the opening friendly, on 13 February 1972, the ground staged its first competitive match: Nàstic 3, Ontinyent 1, in Group V of the Tercera División. That season the Tarragona side won their group and returned to the Spanish second division for the first time in two decades. Over the following years, changes in regulations, above all the requirement to fit seats in every stand, cut the capacity to around 11,000.

The 2006 expansion and the top-flight season

On 3 June 2006 Nàstic sealed promotion to La Liga with a goalless draw at the Chapín stadium in Jerez, with Luis César Sampedro as coach. Moving up forced the club to enlarge the Nou Estadi: a new stand was built above the Preferent section, almost twice the height of the earlier structures, and access points, toilets and catering areas were improved. The work raised capacity to about 14,600. The stadium hosted the 2006-07 top-flight season, which ended in relegation. The stands are divided into the Tribuna, the Preferent, the Gol de Muntanya and the Gol de Mar, which houses the ticket offices, the club shop and the scoreboard.

The Campclar project

In March 2007 a contract was awarded for a new ground in Campclar. The design, unveiled that December, planned for 17,500 spectators in English-style stands. The scheme was meant to be funded by selling the Nou Estadi site for housing, but the financial and property crisis left it without money and it was finally abandoned in November 2008. Nàstic stayed at the Budallera.

The 2018 Mediterranean Games

Tarragona’s selection as host of the 2018 Mediterranean Games brought a wide-ranging refurbishment of the stadium. Inside, the stands were painted in the club’s maroon, the boxes were renovated, the seats in the Tribuna Alta were replaced and structural repairs were carried out. Outside, the ground gained a new facade and new entrance pavilions, and traffic and access around it were reorganised. The Nou Estadi staged the opening ceremony of the Games on 22 June 2018 and the closing ceremony on 1 July, when Tarragona handed over to Oran.

Other events

Beyond Gimnàstic’s matches, the stadium has hosted the Copa Catalunya finals of 2004-05 and 2010-11, the 2010 International Women’s Cup, several editions of the Trofeu Ciutat de Tarragona and a friendly played by Spain’s under-21 side. It also staged the opening and closing of a LaLiga Genuine season. In March 2022, fifty years after it opened, the club added “Costa Daurada” to the name and the ground became the Nou Estadi Costa Daurada.