
Second-tier club build 20,000-seater temporary stadium in just SIX MONTHS as home ground is renovated to host World Cup
Spanish outfit Real Zaragoza have moved out of their La Romareda as it was picked as a host stadium for the 2030 World Cup.
6
6
6
The historic ground is being expanded from a capacity of 33,608 to approximately 43,000 ahead of the tournament.
This is due to Fifa requiring all stadiums to have a minimum capacity of at least 40,000.
The competition will be played across Spain, Portugal and Morocco.
The Nueva Romareda - the New Romareda - is set to be completed in 2028 at an estimated cost of £117million.
But in the meantime, Zaragoza have to play their football away from their home of the last 68 years.
Los Manos will now play at the temporary build Estadio Ibercaja.
The stadium has been built in just SIX MONTHS and will open to tours this week.
The ground is notably smaller than the Romareda with a capacity of just 20,000.
Tours will take place over the next week before its official opening.
Fans will also have the chance to take part in a safety measure stress test at the stadium.
Leaked footage shows shocking state of Barcelona's Nou Camp as club 'consider delaying new stadium opening'
The board of the Nueva Romareda SL have agreed the rental deal for the club to use the ground with the lease lasting 26 months.
The club will have the option to extend the deal until the Romareda reopens.
Zaragoza will pay £216,960 to rent the stadium, but that will reportedly be increased by 70 per cent if they are promoted to LaLiga.
The club will also have to pay for any upgrades that are required by league regulations.
6
6
6
Zaragoza play their first match in the Estadio Ibercaja against Mirandes on July 30.
The match is a pre-season friendly ahead of the clubs' campaign in the Segunda Division.
Zaragoza will be hoping for an improvement on their 18th-place finish from last term.
The team is managed by former player and Atletico Madrid star Gabi Fernandez.
The team was last in LaLiga in 2013 and have previously boasted players such as Cafu, Gerard Pique, Gus Poyet and Diego Milito.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Independent
19 minutes ago
- The Independent
Chelsea winger in fitness race for Women's Euro 2025 final
England forward Lauren James is a doubt for the Euro 2025 final against Spain due to an ankle injury. James sustained the knock during England 's semi-final win over Italy on Tuesday, which led to her being forced off at half-time. Despite the injury, she was seen participating in some training on Friday afternoon. Coach Sarina Wiegman confirmed James is still recovering and will be given time, expressing hope to have all 23 players available for Sunday's match in Basel. Should James be unavailable for the final, Beth Mead or Chloe Kelly are considered potential replacements on the right wing.


The Independent
19 minutes ago
- The Independent
Ella Toone says Lionesses ‘nearly killed' Sarina Wiegman with late Euro 2025 heroics
Midfielder Ella Toone joked England Women 'nearly killed' Sarina Wiegman en route to the Euro 2025 final. In reaching the final, against Spain, Wiegman reached an unprecedented fifth straight major tournament final. No head coach in the men's or women's game has ever achieved that feat before the 55-year-old Dutchwoman. She could now secure a hat-trick of European championship trophies after winning with the Netherlands in 2017, then England in 2022. The Lionesses ' title defence thus far could hardly be described as smooth, requiring two consecutive stunning comebacks in the knockouts, but they have somehow still found themselves a win against the World Cup holders away from the second major trophy in their history. 'I think we've nearly killed her twice this tournament,' said Toone. 'She's said we've definitely aged her, but five consecutive tournaments for Sarina being in the final and that's just unbelievable. 'We know we're in good hands, we know she's a manager who can take teams right to the final, and she's done a few good speeches to be fair, this camp, I'll give it to her. 'She's a great manager, she's someone who we all have a lot of belief in, and we know we're in good hands. 'We know when we go out onto the pitch we fight for each other, but we fight for her and the staff too, and all the fans watching as well, but I mean, unbelievable achievement for Sarina and for the team, too.' Right-back Lucy Bronze, the oldest member of Wiegman's squad at 33, is also poised to make history on Sunday – which would be her 36th major-tournament appearance – to surpass Jill Scott on England's all-time list. 'She's a legend. She's an absolute beast,' said Toone. 'She just played back-to-back 120 minutes. That shows something, and that's something that us younger players and people in the team can really look up to.' Spain beat England 1-0 to secure the World Cup trophy two summers ago and might be the favourites, but Toone is certain the Lionesses have all the tools to claim their first trophy away from home. She added: 'We've spoken about it quite a lot this camp, a proper English performance. I think we have it in us all, individually and as a team, that we want to fight. 'We want to not stop running. You've seen that in games where sometimes you might feel like we're down and out, and it's 90-odd minutes, and then someone comes on and we have one moment, and we take that moment, and that's what it's all about. 'It's the squad depth, it's players having that belief that they can come on and really change the game, but I think it's all in us individually that we're competitive and we want to win, and we know what it takes to win tournaments. 'That's what we managed to do, and that's what's got us to a third consecutive final.'


The Guardian
20 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Newcastle's Alexander Isak offered £600,000-a-week tax-free deal by Al-Hilal
Alexander Isak has been offered a staggering £600,000-a-week tax-free deal by Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia with further lucrative bonuses on top. The Newcastle striker is open to leaving St James' Park and Liverpool, who are long-term admirers, are keeping an eye on the situation. Isak has not travelled to Asia with his Newcastle teammates for the club's pre-season tour, officially because of a minor muscle injury, and is assessing his options. They include Al-Hilal, who reached the Club World Cup quarter-finals, losing to Fluminense, and want to make a grand statement by signing Isak – one of the most coveted players on the market. Al-Hilal, who are managed by Simone Inzaghi, are prepared to sweeten the package for the striker with bonuses if he were to win the league and/or the Asian Champions League and top the scoring charts. Isak has been unsettled by the transfer talk and he did not play for Newcastle in the friendly at Celtic last Saturday. The club have no desire to sell him and the fans would surely take the dimmest of views of their Saudi owners if they were to let him go to Al-Hilal. Like Newcastle, Al‑Hilal are owned by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund. Liverpool would not be able to match the personal terms that Al‑Hilal have proposed and it is unclear whether they would be able to afford the fee; Isak is valued at about £120m. Liverpool have signed another striker – Hugo Ekitiké, for £79m from Eintracht Frankfurt – and spent heavily in other areas, most notably the £116m package for the midfielder Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen. Their other big deals have been for Milos Kerkez (£40m from Bournemouth), Jeremie Frimpong (£29.5m, Leverkusen) and Giorgi Mamardashvili (£25m, Valencia). Sign up to Football Daily Kick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football after newsletter promotion When sales are factored in, chiefly those of Jarell Quansah (£30m to Leverkusen), Caoimhín Kelleher (£12.5m to Brentford) and Trent Alexander-Arnold (£10m to Real Madrid), Liverpool's net transfer spend stands at £235.5m. It is possible they could raise further funds by selling Darwin Núñez, Harvey Elliott and even Luis Díaz, although they have maintained the Colombian is not for sale. Isak is contracted to Newcastle until 2028.