Nueva Condomina · Profile

The Estadio Nueva Condomina, known as Estadio Enrique Roca de Murcia since December 2019 under a sponsorship agreement, stands in Churra, a district on the northern edge of the city of Murcia, next to the shopping centre that shares its name. It has been Real Murcia’s home ground since 2006, when it replaced La Condomina as the club’s stadium. With 32,024 seats, it is the largest stadium in the Region of Murcia and the sixteenth largest in Spain.

Design and construction

The stadium was designed by architect Jaime López Amor and cost 28 million euros to build. The natural grass pitch measures 102 by 70 metres. The developer billed it as a five-star venue, but UEFA rated it four stars, since the top category required a minimum capacity of 50,000. Its opening brought to an end the era of La Condomina, the old city-centre ground where Real Murcia had played for decades.

Opening night: Spain v Argentina

The ground was inaugurated on 11 October 2006 with a friendly between Spain and Argentina, played in front of around 32,000 people. Spain won 2-1, and a second-half penalty converted by David Villa settled the match. Coach Luis Aragonés was under pressure at the time, and the Spanish press read the result as a reprieve for his position.

Home of Real Murcia

Real Murcia played their first competitive match at the new stadium on 26 November 2006, on matchday 14 of the Spanish second division, losing 4-1 to Real Valladolid. The debut was a bitter one, yet that season ended in promotion to La Liga, sealed on 12 May 2007 with a draw against Ponferradina. In 2007-08 the stadium hosted top-flight football and the club reached 25,000 season-ticket holders, although Murcia went back down at the end of the campaign. In 2010 they dropped to the third tier, Segunda División B, after conceding a 93rd-minute penalty in the final game of the season at Girona. They returned to the second division on 29 May 2011 by knocking out Lugo in the play-offs, and in 2014 a sanction from the Professional Football League sent them back to Segunda B despite having competed for promotion on the pitch.

Ownership, expansion plans and naming

The stadium is owned by Murcia City Council, which in 2009 granted its use to Real Murcia for 50 years. Around the same time it was included in the joint Spain-Portugal bid for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, which planned to expand it to more than 43,000 seats. FIFA awarded those tournaments to Russia and Qatar in December 2010, and the expansion was shelved. In December 2019 the venue took the commercial name Estadio Enrique Roca de Murcia through an agreement with the company of the same name.

The Spain national team in Murcia

After the opening night, the Spain national team returned to the stadium on four more occasions. On 6 September 2008, as reigning European champions, they began qualifying for the 2010 World Cup with a 1-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina, David Villa scoring in front of 29,152 spectators. On 8 June 2010 they completed their preparation for the World Cup in South Africa by beating Poland 6-0, with goals from Villa, Silva, Xabi Alonso, Cesc Fàbregas, Fernando Torres and Pedro; it was also Torres’s return from a knee injury. On 7 June 2017, under Julen Lopetegui, Spain drew 2-2 with Colombia in a friendly, with Silva and Morata scoring for the hosts and Cardona and Falcao for the visitors. The fifth visit came on 12 October 2024, in the UEFA Nations League and under the Enrique Roca name: Spain beat Denmark 1-0 with a 79th-minute goal from Martín Zubimendi, watched by 29,870 spectators.