The City Council of La Línea has put out to tender the first phase of the construction of the new Municipal Soccer Stadium. Only the current pitch will remain and the new structure for 8,000 spectators will be built, in at least three phases.

Tender as the first step

The administrative procedures have been carried out with great agility, since it was on December 16, when the mayor Juan Franco, has announced that the Provincial Council was going to invest €4.5 million ($5.5 million) for the construction of the stadium. The next step is about drafting the project, which will have a maximum execution period of three months from the signing of the contract. The deadline for submitting bids ends on January 29, with the maximum bid estimated at €107,151 ($130,151).

Once the design is drawn up, tender for the work will come out. The City Council intends that the construction of the new stadium can begin during the second half of 2021, continue during 2022, and be completed in 2023.

A historical moment for the city

The new stadium is a part of the Government Strategic Plan 2019/2023 of La Línea 100x100. The idea which came from an autonomist political party includes the change in the city's exterior image and the state of mind of the citizens. Its main proposal is to convert La Línea de la Concepción into an autonomous city in the style of Ceuta or Melilla. 

It would be a modern field that would become an urban landmark in the center of the city, next to the beach, explained the mayor when presenting the project.

A venue where the Real Balompédica Linense or La Balona (currently Segunda B) plays its matches will be in the same location. It will have a capacity for 8,000 spectators, and will be built without athletics tracks, moved to the future sports city.

La Línea de la Concepción, more often known as La Línea, is a Spanish city in the province of Cádiz in Andalusia. It is situated on the eastern isthmus of the Bay of Gibraltar, north of Gibraltar–Spain border.

The new venue aimed to boost the area

The current Estadio Municipal from 1969 has faced problems with the quality of the concrete used in its construction. It even forced the club to play some matches away from the venue whilst repairs were conducted, in 1991. More important renovations were carried out in 2003 and in 2009 when an artificial pitch was installed. La Balona did not find the plastic as the perfect solution, and in the middle of 2016, they turned back the clock and replaced it with a natural grass surface. The current pitch is the only thing that will remain standing.

According to the preliminary project and feasibility study carried out by Estudio Seguí - the team responsible for the general plan of urban planning - the stadium will be equipped with general spaces. A coffee bar, lockers area, offices, changing rooms, a gym, medical zone, facilities for referees and sports store will serve both the club and local people.

Raising the new stadium also connects with the construction of a north sports city La Atunara-El Zabal. The new sports area will be located at the area of 66,040 square meters and will contain plenty of demanded facilities, such: an athletics track, a new sports hall, five different football fields, changing rooms, leisure area and parking.

Author: Karol Tatar