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News

MAR 11.07.2017 | News

Five things you may not know about the Estadio Carlos Belmonte

We reveal a handful of fascinating facts about Albacete's home ground, which is set to once again play host to LaLiga 1l2l3 football this coming season after the La Mancha outfit bounced straight back up into the second tier.

News

MAR 11.07.2017

  • The Estadio Carlos Belmonte was opened on 9 September 1960, with a friendly fixture between Albacete and Sevilla FC held to mark the stadium's opening. The ground's current capacity of 17,500 makes it the biggest footballing arena throughout Castile-La Mancha.
  • Albacete's home ground owes its name to Carlos Belmonte, who was the city's mayor when the stadium was inaugurated. What's more, Belmonte, himself an architect by profession, was responsible for the design of the new arena.
  • The Spanish national team has contested five games at the Carlos Belmonte. The first of these fixtures took place on 10 October 1999, when La Roja faced Israel in a 2000 European Championship qualifier, a game in which Spain eased to a 3-0 win as they finished top of their group and sealed a place at the finals in Belgium and the Netherlands.
  • On 15 June 2014, F. Albacete etched their names into the history books by gaining promotion to the Liga Iberdrola, securing a spot in the top tier of the women's game for the first time in the club's history. Over 4,000 fans took their places inside the Carlos Belmonte to witness the Albacete ladies clinch promotion to the Women's First Division. Last season saw the stadium once again host a women's match, with Rayo Vallecano the visitors in a league fixture played on 1 April.
  • Two iconic figures within the Spanish international set-up made their debuts at the stadium. Albacete-born Andres Iniesta took his bow in a Spain shirt against Russia back in 2006, whilst the Carlos Belmonte saw Isco earn his first competitive cap in a World Cup qualifier against Georgia in 2013.

© LALIGA - 2017